Opinion

Iraq: a work in progress

It’s been a bumpy road, but Johnny is marching home.

And Janie.

For better or for worse.

Seven years and more than 4,400 combat deaths after the initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the last American troops specifically designated for combat in Iraq began the long journey home.

“They’re leaving as heroes,” Col. John Norris, their commanding officer, told The Washington Post.

“I want them to walk home with pride in their hearts.”

Every American who served under arms in Iraq can take pride in what they collectively accomplished: the dispossession of a brutal tyrant and the imposition of a measure of peace on one of the most volatile spots on the planet.

Credit accrues also to George W. Bush, who understood that the long-term presence of Saddam Hussein at the head of the Persian Gulf threatened both regional peace and global economic stability.

He had to go, and history will appreciate that Bush had the guts to arrange his departure.

But if it is true that war is merely politics by other means, the removal of combat troops hands responsibility for achieving a long-haul solution to Iraq’s many continuing troubles back to the politicians — in Washington, in the Gulf region and especially in Baghdad itself.

Many of those in power in Washington now — Barack Obama especially — would have abandoned Iraq to the wolves years ago. They opposed the surge strategy championed by Bush and Gen. David Petraeus — now in command in Afghanistan — and were made to look foolish indeed by its stunning success.

Whether Iran steps up its efforts to destabilize Iraq remains to be seen — though Tehran is a principal beneficiary of the post-Saddam status quo, and the 50,000 US troops meant to remain in Iraq for at least another year could help mitigate Iranian mischief.

At the end of the day, the chief threat to eventual peace is the various Iraqi factions now maneuvering for political advantage.

Tensions stemming from the March 7 elections continue to run high, exacerbated by religious sectarianism and secular advantage-seeking.

Optimism, understandably, is in short supply.

Still, to paraphrase Ben Franklin, George W. Bush and the US military returned to the Iraqi people their country — if they can keep it.