U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Victor Kizer passes out toys to local Iraqi children while fellow soldiers assess construction progress on the Basra Talent School and the Al Jameat and Al Quibla markets, Basra in Iraq, July 29, 2009. Kizer is assigned to the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion's Company B. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Chrissy Best America Absconds: Iraq Feels Abandoned By Bam
WHERE are the Americans?" Talk to Iraqis in Baghdad these days, and you'll likely hear the question.
Of course, everyone knows where the Americans are physically. The 130,000 US troops cantoned in a diminishing number of barracks outside the cities make their presence felt on occasion. The thousands of civilian Americans who are helping build a new Iraq are also easy to spot.
The question refers to the United States' fast-fading political profile.
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My Comment: Amir Taheri hits it on the nose .... specifically on the Democrats and their allies in the media who were made to look foolish when they were openly and publicly voicing their belief that the Iraq war was lost in 2007, and that U.S. forces had to leave the country ASAP.
It was in this supercharged environment that convinced me that I had to start this blog. I wanted to keep a record of what was happening in both Washington and Iraq, and I also wanted a forum to vent out my frustrations on what I was seeing .... U.S. political leaders and the main stream media outlets were saying one thing, but the commanders and troops on the ground in Iraq were saying the exact opposite in their blogs and military forums.
The rest is now history .... but unfortunately many of those same political leaders who were so wrong in understanding what was happening in Iraq in 2007 .... are now the same men and women who are the leaders in the U.S. Congress and White House today.
I would like to believe that something was learned from this experience Unfortunately .... their mindset on what needs to be done in Iraq .... and more specifically in Afghanistan .... is the same mindset that they have had for years. Nothing has changed, with the exception that they now have the power.
Sighhh.....
The are always consequences when elections happen. It is what American democracy is all about, and for the Democrats in 2008 it is clear that they had received a mandate from the American people who wanted a different path to follow from the one that they have been following for the past few years.
Unfortunately, the consequences that I see now are not in anyway reassuring. As I had mentioned in my posts last night, I am witnessing the slow motion unraveling of Iraq, and I see the U.S. being suckered into a no-win situation in Afghanistan.
This is when I look at Washington for leadership and direction .... but I see none. Instead, I see an ex-President bailing out 2 stupid and naive reporters who were foolish to cross into North Korea without any appreciation of the consequences of their action, and on the other channel I see union thugs beating up a middle age black man who was voicing his opposition to changes in his medical care.
This is where the focus of America is today .... not on Iraq, Al Qaeda, the war against terrorism (a phrase that is now banned in U.S. government publications and announcements), or Afghanistan.
If there is a focus ..... the intensity is certainly lacking .... and the Iraqis are not the only ones who are now feeling left out.