Did the U.S. Withdraw from Iraq Too Soon? >
U.S. Withdrawal Came at Exactly the Right Time
The withdrawal demonstrated to the people of Iraq and their neighbors that democracy works
January 23, 2012
About Lawrence J. Korb:
Lawrence J. Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration.
The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011 came at exactly the right time. It will have benefits for us and for the Iraqis.
The U.S. benefits fall into four areas.
[Iran Could Strike US in Afghanistan, Iraq.]
First, by ending its military mission in Iraq, the U.S. will be able to reduce total defense spending, which in real terms is higher than at any time since World War II. Ending the war in Iraq will save close to $100 billion a year. This will be an important step in dealing with our massive fiscal debt, which Admiral Mike Mullen, the recently departed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued is the greatest threat to our national security.
Second, by living up to the agreement that President Bush signed in December 2008, the U.S. will enhance its standing in the Arab and Muslim world. By keeping our word we will undermine the narrative promulgated by groups like al Qaeda that we are an imperialist occupying power, like the Europeans who previously wreaked such havoc in the Muslim world.
Third, it will relieve the strain on our ground forces, who have been deployed numerous times since 9/11; this will allow them to have sufficient time at home to get their lives together and develop the skills needed for dealing with future threats.
[With Leaner Military, a New Focus on China.]
Fourth, the withdrawal will help us in the coming negotiations with the Taliban on ending the war in Afghanistan. If we pressured the Iraqis to allow us to undo our agreement with that country, it would have been difficult for Afghans to trust any agreement we might make with them.
The Iraqis will also reap the benefits. First, had we forced Maliki to renegotiate the 2008 agreement, his governing coalition would have fallen apart. Maliki would have lost the support of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and likely lost his majority hold in the parliament.
Second, the withdrawal demonstrated to the people of Iraq and their neighbors that democracy works. Even if Maliki wanted us to stay, he knew that the parliament would not have approved it as long as the American troops had immunity from prosecution.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Iran.]
Third, our military departure will give the Iraqis the incentive to make the political and economic compromises necessary to create a viable state that balances the interests of the Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds.
Whether they will do that or not is up to them. We have done all that we can and all that we should.
- Join the debate on Facebook.
- Follow U.S. News Debate Club on Twitter.
- See a collection of political cartoons on the turmoil in the Middle East.
- Other Arguments
-
#15527
Yes — The U.S. must pressure Iraq to avoid a new sectarian civil war
ROBERT ZARATE, Policy Director of the Foreign Policy Initiative
-
#29068
No — The war should never have been launched--so it can't be ended soon enough
PHYLLIS BENNIS, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
-
#33928
No — The United States should never have invaded in the first place
CHRISTOPHER PREBLE, Vice President for Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute
-
#42518
No — Mission to promote "democracy" in Iraq was an unobtainable objective
DANIEL J. GALLINGTON, Senior Policy and Program Adviser at the George C. Marshall Institute
-
#63026
Yes — Iraq's fragile coalition government has begun to come apart at the ethnic and sectarian seams
ILAN BERMAN, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council
-
#73433
Yes — Iraq might take 15 or 20 years to become a functioning democracy
MICHELE DUNNE, Director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
-
#73231
Yes — The real winner in the Middle East will be Iran
HELLE DALE, Senior Fellow in Public Diplomacy Studies at the Heritage Foundation
-
#93031
Yes — Pulling the covers over our eyes and leaving the region is not a thought-through strategy
THOMAS HENRIKSEN, Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and at the U.S. Joint Special Operations University
-
#103035
Yes — The president, in his own words, wanted to fulfill a campaign promise
DANIELLE PLETKA, Vice President for Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
-
#11819
No — Arms sales to Iraq also will provide a continuing source of connectivity
DANIEL GOURÉ, Vice President at the Lexington Institute
-
#124153
No — The Iraq War cost the United States 4,421 lives and $806 billion
DENNIS KUCINICH, U.S. Representative, Ohio's 10th District
