Iraq withdrawal: Can we declare victory?

President Obama says U.S. troops are mere weeks away from clearing out of Iraq. Time for "mission accomplished"?

Sgt. Patrick Hopkins kisses his fiancee as he returns from a year-long tour in Iraq.
(Image credit: Getty)

President Obama said Monday that his pledged "responsible end" to the Iraq War is proceeding "as promised and on schedule." Speaking to disabled veterans, Obama said that all U.S. combat troops will be out of Iraq by Aug. 31, and the remaining 50,000 will be gone by the end of 2011. He did caution that there will still be some "American sacrifice in Iraq," but after seven years, can we finally declare "mission accomplished?" (Watch Obama's Iraq announcement)

Savor our success: All U.S. combat troops will be out of Iraq in four weeks, says the Chicago Tribune in an editorial. "Take a moment to absorb that good news." Those troops aren't leaving a fully stable and prosperous Iraq, but it will be "a nation steady enough to control its destiny" by 2011. If that's not complete victory, it looks much better than all the "doomsday predictions."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us