Mission Accomplished?

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other American officials formally ended the war in Iraq earlier on Thursday, Dec. 15, with a ceremony in Baghdad.

"You will leave with great pride — lasting pride," Panetta told troops after American soldiers officially cased or retired the U.S. Forces Iraq flag at Baghdad International Airport, according to the Associated Press. "Secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to begin a new chapter in history."

The White House also marked the milestone with an interactive timeline on its website.

“American troops have served in Iraq with honor and distinction since March 19, 2003, but the cost to our nation has been great,” it wrote. “December 2011 marks the end of our mission in Iraq, and the fulfillment of a promise Barack Obama made to the American people even before he became president.”

The $800 billion conflict killed 4,434 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqis. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was toppled, but sectarian violence nearly tore the country apart. Iraq’s infrastructure remains in shambles after nearly nine years of conflict.

Will the end of the Iraq war amount to Obama’s mission accomplished moment?

Obama Announces Total Troop Withdrawl from Iraq

President Barack Obama announced on Friday, Oct. 21, that the last American combat troops in Iraq will leave the country by the end of the year.

"I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," said Obama in the White House briefing room, as reported by the Associated Press. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

Obama in Aug. 2010 officially declared an end to U.S. combat in Iraq. More than 4,400 American servicemembers have lost their lives in the country since the war began in March 2003.

"I applaud President Obama for a promise kept," said California Sen. Barbara Boxer. "Today is a day to honor our troops and our military families who have sacrificed so much over the last nine years to give the Iraqi people a chance at a better future. It is now up to the Iraqis to secure their country and provide opportunity for all their people."

Obama declares U.S. combat in Iraq has ended

At the end of a very hot day here in Brooklyn that included growing concerns over what Hurricane Earl could potentially bring to Fire Island on Friday, I find myself thinking about President Obama’s declaration Operation Iraqi Freedom has ended.

So much has changed since I walked past those three men huddled around a battery-powered radio at a newspaper kiosk on a street in Granada, Spain, around 3:30 a.m. on March 21, 2003 (or around 9:30 p.m. EST on March 20, 2003.) I was walking home after I dropped my friend Becky off at her hotel after a night of bar-hopping. I could not hear the news to which these men were listening (probably because I was tired and possibly still drunk), but I realized hours later when I saw the front pages of several newspapers that these men were almost certainly listening to then-President George W. Bush announcing American and coalition troops had begun to enter Iraq.

I was among the handful of siesta-hour shoppers in the Al Campo department store near my house in Granada who gathered around a group of televisions to watch American troops pull the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdos Square in Baghdad to the ground on April 9, 2003. We stood there in silence as the spectacle unfolded live on Spanish television, but shoppers slowly returned to their shopping. I did the same about 15 minutes later.

More than seven years later, Obama is now commander-in-chief. His Oval Office speech earlier tonight contained an abundance of patriotic metaphors—including a description of American troops as the “steel in our ship of state”—and a strategic use of the words “security” and “milestone” and the phrase “domestic challenges”, among others, but Obama has fulfilled his campaign promise to end the war in Iraq. Bringing a polarized country together and turning the page on one if the most divisive issues it has seen in recent history, however, will take far more than an abundance of patriotic metaphors and categorizations of those who served in Iraq and the use of politically strategic words ahead of mid-term elections.

World marks fifth anniversary of Iraq war

With the myriad of deadlines that loomed this past Wednesday, I did not have adequate time to reflect upon the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. President George W. Bush announced the invasion had begun during a televised address on March 19, 2003 as networks around the world broadcast dramatic images of American air strikes across Baghdad.

I was studying in Granada, Spain, at the time and I vividly recall a handful of men huddled around a radio inside a newspaper kiosk around 3:30 a.m. as I was walking home after spending the night out with my visiting friend Becky. She had flown into Madrid the day before, and the added security at the airport was a clear signal to me that something was going to happen in Iraq. And the blaring newspaper headlines the following day confirmed the beginning of the war to which I had concluded the men were listening on the radio.

Former Prime Minister José María Aznar supported the war, but nearly 90 percent of the Spanish public vehemently opposed it. And this opposition certainly shaped my perception of the initial air strikes, Bush's decision to attack Iraq and the subsequent campaign that continues into its sixth year.

War, by its very nature, is a sustained, large scale and violent proposition. The highly politicized debate about whether Bush should have authorized the invasion of Iraq, increased the number of troops on the ground or even exert more pressure on Baghdad to expedite desperately needed political reforms will certainly continue in this election year. But war also, by its very nature, produces a number of unintended consequences.

The United States' reputation around the world remains the most conclusive example of the war's global impact. Hundreds of thousands of people took part in anti-war marches across Spain before the conflict began and in the days after the first missiles fell onto Baghdad because they strongly opposed the Bush administration's plan. These manifestations took place countries around the world, and sent a very powerful and profound message that more or less remains today on this fifth anniversary: war is the worst case scenario whose perpetrators must carry out with the utmost foresight and moral integrity. It arguably remains unlikely those who authorized the war in Iraq used this judgment.

Military Discharges More Gay Arabic Linguists

As activists continue to urge Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the Associated Press reported yesterday U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan [D-Mass.] and other lawmakers may call upon the Pentagon to testify before Congress about the recent dismissal of yet more gay Arabic linguists. Meehan continues to spearhead the effort to repeal this policy former President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993. He stated in his letter to House Armed Services Committee Chair Ike Skelton [D-Missouri] "At a time when our military is stretched to the limit and our cultural knowledge of the Middle East is dangerously deficient, I just can't believe that kicking out able, competent Arabic linguists is making our country any safer."

Indeed; the military has reportedly discharged 58 Arabic linguists under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This fact is simply alarming as Meehan suggests. One can make a clear argument a lack of understanding of the Iraqi people, Iraqi culture and the broader Arab world continues to contribute to the failed campaign in the war-torn country. These linguists play an invaluable role in this war regardless of their sexual orientation. To discharge these men solely on the grounds they are gay simply makes no sense and highlights the need to repeal this flawed policy once and for all.

BBC Examines The Late Rev. Jerry Falwell's Legacy

This blogger listened with piqued interest this morning as the British Broadcasting Corporation talked with two Republican analysists about the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's legacy. The Thomas Road Baptist Church founder's homophobia and outrageous statements against lesbians, gays and anyone else who opposed his divisive agenda were widely known. But his role within the Republican Party during the 1980s and early 1990s was equally as important.

The panelists were correct to note the war in Iraq remains the dominant issue in the current election cycle. They are also correct to note the growing discontent among social conservatives about the current Republican Presidential candidates. Log Cabin Republican Executive Director Patrick Sammon told this blogger in an interview last month the GOP must focus on issues which unite Americans if the party hopes to maintain the White House next November. Voter discontent with the war remains high. It seems likely this sentiment will continue -- or even increase -- as the situation in Iraq continues to evolve in the months leading up to the first caucuses and primaries. Marriage and other social issues remain important to many social conservatives and their LGBT counterparts. The current geopolitical realities will almost certainly diminish the impact the anti-LGBT rhetoric Falwell and others used so well in previous elections. Hopefully this trend will become permanent.