Not the end of Iraq combat operations

As spelled out by Antiwar.com, the Obama Administration is spinning furiously to convince us that the U.S. military is no longer conducting “combat operations” in Iraq, and the corporate media is eating it up.  Since there is no more “combat” in Iraq, let’s have a parade in downtown Baghdad!

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Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in Maplewood with his wife Beverly.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Avatar of Brynn Jacobs
    Brynn Jacobs August 20, 2010 Reply

    Erich, thanks for the link to the Petraeus story, I guess they forgot to mail the talking points to Afghanistan. You are right, this is the very definition of "spin".

    The Washington Post listed the top 5 myths about the Iraq troop withdrawal, this is from their #1 myth:

    1. As of this month, the United States no longer has combat troops in Iraq.

    Not even close. Roughly 50,000 American military personnel remain in Iraq, and the majority are still combat troops — they're just named something else. The major units still in Iraq will no longer be called "brigade combat teams" and instead will be called "advisory and assistance brigades." But a rose by any other name is still a rose, and the differences in brigade structure and personnel are minimal.

    American troops in Iraq will still go into harm's way. They will still accompany Iraqi units on combat missions — even if only as "advisers." American pilots will still fly combat missions in support of Iraqi ground forces. And American special forces will still face off against Iraqi terrorist groups in high-intensity operations. For that reason, when American troops leave their bases in Iraq, they will still, almost invariably, be in full "battle rattle" and ready for a fight.

    1. Avatar of Erich Vieth
      Erich Vieth August 20, 2010

      Brynn: You've reminded me that you had covered this issue nicely only a couple weeks ago–thanks for the reminder.

  2. Avatar of Erich Vieth
    Erich Vieth August 20, 2010 Reply

    Say this to yourself a few times: "The US embassy in Baghdad is the largest in the world—the size of eighty football fields." So just HOW did it get to be that our oil is under their sand? http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/20/obama_admin…

    The Obama administration says the last combat brigades have left Iraq. Is this the end of the Iraq war or just a rebranding of the US occupation? More than 50,000 troops remain in Iraq as well as 4,500 special operations forces and tens of thousands of private contractors. The US embassy in Baghdad is the largest in the world—the size of eighty football fields. We get a perspective on the so-called withdrawal rarely heard in the US media: that of two Iraqis, Raed Jarrar of Peace Action and Yanar Mohammed of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq.

  3. Avatar of Erich Vieth
    Erich Vieth September 3, 2010 Reply

    At least the AP recognizes that Obama's claim about "end of combat" is a lie:

    [C]ombat in Iraq is not over, and we should not uncritically repeat suggestions that it is, even if they come from senior officials. The situation on the ground in Iraq is no different today than it has been for some months. Iraqi security forces are still fighting Sunni and al-Qaida insurgents. Many Iraqis remain very concerned for their country's future despite a dramatic improvement in security, the economy and living conditions in many areas.

    As for U.S. involvement, it also goes too far to say that the U.S. part in the conflict in Iraq is over. President Obama said Monday night that "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country."

    However, 50,000 American troops remain in country. Our own reporting on the ground confirms that some of these troops, especially some 4,500 special operations forces, continue to be directly engaged in military operations. These troops are accompanying Iraqi soldiers into battle with militant groups and may well fire and be fired on. . . .

    http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=19006…

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