Dawn of the Dread

The president spoke last night of the formal end of our combat operations in Iraq and the beginning of Operation New Dawn to support Iraq in moving forward. This is indeed a great occasion, given the conviction of many of our leadership class that the war could not be won, that we were doomed to defeat, and that they had to do all they could to get us to retreat and lose before the cost became higher.

The speech was fine, and as good as war supporters can reasonably hope for given that the president who gave the speech was one of that pro-retreat leadership class. Yes, there were parts that grated on nerves. But other than having George W. Bush give the speech, I'm not sure I would have been happy at an emotional level at the words or tone. So on substance, it's good enough for government work. I hope our friends and enemies in and around Iraq heard the words of support and believe President Obama will defend what he thanked our troops for gaining.

I think this assessment by Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, is very appropriate:

"As an Iraqi and a victim of Saddam Hussein, I can say that the war was worth it because it ended one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world," Zebari told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "We appreciate the sacrifices the U.S. military and the American people made while standing with us in these very, very difficult times," he added.

"The war for Iraq's future is ongoing and it should be fought and won by the Iraqi people and their leaders," Zebari said. "It's more or less the same war Americans fought against terrorist and extreme elements who want to undermine the democratic government. But it's our duty to fight it and win it."

In time, Iraqis may be as ungrateful as the French for their liberation, but right now we have an ally in the common fight against jihadi terrorists; and they still appreciate what we did. They miss us already as they face the future without our troops so prominent in the fight.

Hanson has a fine piece looking back on our victory.

The Telegraph has a piece less fine. Aside from the mis-statement that al Qaeda had no presence in Iraq prior to our invasion, this is really silly:

So was it worth it? That is an impossible question to answer, for we have no way of knowing what Saddam would have done if the Allies had backed down in the spring of 2003. Iraq may now be, after Lebanon, the most democratic state in the Arab Middle East, but that is hardly a crowded field. President Obama – who opposed the war from the start – said at the weekend that Iraq is now "like any sovereign, independent nation, free to chart its own course". That will only really be true when the last Americans leave; only then will we start to learn whether this was a prize worth fighting for.

I expect more nuance from the heirs to an empire. Do we really have no way of projecting Saddam's probable course absent our invasion based on his nearly three-decade long reign of terror and blood-letting?

And Iraq's democracy is less valuable for being so rare in the Middle East? Really?

And is Iraq not sovereign because American troops remain to defend them after the war? Hmm, please break the news to the Kuwaitis, South Koreans, Germans, Italians, and Japanese that they are not yet fully sovereign until the last US troop leaves. And let's not forget the US forces still in Britain along with those other countries, who have prevented Britain from really being a sovereign, independent nation, free to chart its own course.

We've won the Iraq War. In truth, it was won two years ago. Yes, we must win the peace (and more war in the region), but we can move forward into this new dawn with confidence that we can face our enemies and defeat them. In time, perhaps decades, we'll be able to get our force levels in Iraq down to South Korea levels and make plans for how best to send reinforcements.

This is the beginning of a good day, people. Embrace it.