Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Editorial: Iraq's sovereignty day
The future of a nation is in the hands of Iraqi's leaders and its people.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
As American troops completed their withdrawal from Iraqi towns and cities on Tuesday, congregating mostly in forward operating bases where they can be called upon when needed, the Iraqi people expressed jubilation tempered with caution and doubt about whether their security forces can handle the responsibility that's been handed to them.
Despite those reservations and an uptick in violence recently, the mood was undeniable as Iraqis celebrated a new national holiday, National Sovereignty Day.
Marchers shouted, "America has left! Baghdad is victorious!"
Not only did Iraqis fail to greet American troops as liberators after the 2003 invasion, they are not exactly taking back their nation with an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward the United States.
In a speech commemorating the holiday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said, "The national united government succeeded in putting down the sectarian war that was threatening the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq."
He did not mention the blood, sweat and lives of American and British troops.
Tuesday's transfer of responsibility is certainly a landmark in the long, hard slog of the Iraq war --though 130,000 U.S. troops remain in the country. The occupation, while less visible, is hardly over yet.
Still, some will say that Tuesday marked a day of vindication for former President Bush's much-maligned surge -- even though many factors combined to bring about the relative calm that made the transfer of responsibility possible.
The real test of what has been accomplished will depend on how adroitly alMaliki's government works with members of the Sunni Awakening, tribal and religious leaders who gave up the insurgency against U.S. forces and the national government and who helped oust al-Qaida terrorists.
So far, things haven't gotten off to a promising start. Sunnis feel marginalized by al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government, and there are fears that if Sunnis continue to feel shut out, a full-scale sectarian war could yet erupt.
Still, even a car bomb that killed at least 20 in the northern city of Kirkuk later in the day could not take away from the significant achievement that Tuesday marked.
Iraq is on its way back to full sovereignty and full control of its own destiny.
Whether that destiny reveals progress or disaster still waits to be seen.
In either case, the future of the nation is in the hands of the Iraqi people.
