Iraqis Celebrate Independence Day from U.S. Occupation of Cities

Iraqis are dancing in the streets this week, and otherwise openly celebrating June 30th , the long-awaited arrival of the mandated deadline for U.S. withdrawal from the cities and towns of Iraq.

As of June 30, 2009, the 130,000 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq are confined to U.S. military bases, and may only join operations in support of Iraqi troops, and when expressly invited to do so.

U.S. combat operations ended in April 2009, at the behest of the Iraqi government. All other members of the so-called coalition troops (aka, the coalition of the paid) have departed Iraq.

I guess one could say Iraqis are celebrating their Independence Day, complete with fireworks, from U.S. occupation of their beloved, albeit betrampled, country.

As we joyously celebrate our own country's Independence Day, what thinking, caring American can blame the Iraqis for their uncontainable joy and pride? Explains Great Britain's Guardian:

"Iraq has declared tomorrow a national holiday and is planning festivals to mark the end of the US presence on the streets of its towns and cities...

"The much-anticipated milestone has been hailed as a return to sovereignty by Iraqi officials, who have maintained sometimes difficult relations with the US military throughout the years of occupation..."

After all, George Bush and Dick Cheney deliberately misled Congress to obtain 2002 authorization for the Iraq War. The U.S. attack on and occupation of Iraq swiftly turned into a poorly executed, haplessly mismanaged, obscenely destructive and violent $1 trillion debacle. (See Iraq War Facts & Statistics at June 24, 2009.)

Then, Bush and Cheney used the Iraq War to channel tens of billions in taxpayer funds to corporations headed by friends and big-time Republican donors.

For details, see my columns Fraud & Theft of More U.S. Billions in Iraq? and Iraq Gold Rush for Bush Crony War Profiteers.

Also don't miss seeing the Robert Greenwald film Iraq for Sale: War Profiteers or the extraordinary accountability work done at CorpWatch's War Profiteers website.

Earlier this month, AP reported on even more graft and waste in Iraq War contracting by the Bush administration, paid to KBR, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, which was headed by Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000:

"KBR Inc., the primary... (U.S.) contractor in Iraq, has been paid nearly $32 billion since 2001. The commission says billions of dollars of that amount ended up wasted due to poorly defined work orders, inadequate oversight and contractor inefficiencies."

Under the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces agreement, all U.S. forces are supposed to be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, although the Iraqi government and people can demand an earlier U.S. withdrawal date.

For now, though, 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, as do more than 250,000 independent contractors and State Department employees in both Iraq and Afghanistan. And unbelievably, in 2009, the U.S. continues to pour billions into Iraqeach month.

Iraqi elation at U.S. soldiers leaving the streets of their cities is entirely understandable. Said one angry Iraqi soldier to Great Britain's Guardian, "The Americans were occupiers; they did not come here to help Iraq and that's why we are glad to get (rid) of them. We will now rely on our own abilities and we will not need them alongside us."

And a relieved Iraqi woman eloquently commented, "I dreamed a lot about the Americans arriving in Iraq and changing things. I wanted a new life and a better environment. I shook the Americans' hands and decorated them with flowers. But our dreams were empty and now I am happy they are leaving."

What's not understandable is the blindly bitter neo-con grousing. Grumbled John Hannah, Cheney's National Security Advisor from 2005 to 2009, today in a Los Angeles Times op-ed:

"Under Obama, Bush's commitment to winning in Iraq has all but vanished. Convinced from the start that the war was a mistake..., Obama has for years been the salesman in chief for a narrative of failure: Iraq is seen as a colossal disaster -- a senseless distraction that drained U.S. resources while alienating the rest of the world.

"While recognizing a vague obligation to help Iraqis forge a better future, Obama's bottom line comes through loud and clear: The war was a strategic blunder, and the sooner the U.S. can wash its hands of it and re-focus on our "real" priorities in the Middle East, the better."

Damned right, Mr. Hanna.

The Iraq War WAS a "colossal disaster." A "senseless distraction ." A "strategic blunder."

Deal with it!

Read Iraq War Facts & Statistics at June 24, 2009 for a quick-reading summary of the destruction, death. dishonesty, and flagrant waste wrought by the Bush-Cheney War in Iraq.

(Photo of jubilant Iraqis waving for 107 detained relatives before they were released by U.S. military on March 19, 2009 at Um al-Qura mosque in Baghdad, Iraq. The detainees were held at the U.S. detention facility at Camp Bucca 340 miles southeast of Baghdad: Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images)