Edited and Translated by People's Daily Online
U.S. President Barack Obama announced the end of the U.S. war in Iraq together with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Dec. 12, saying the remaining troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. Barack Obama, who consistently criticized the Iraq War, said history will judge the original decision to go into Iraq.
The war in Iraq is undoubtedly a major event in the 21st century. The American people and media are reflecting. Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers lie died, more than 30,000 wounded, and 3 trillion U.S. dollars was spent in this nine-year war. Furthermore, the fiscal deficit of the United States is closely related to the huge war expenses. However, the large cost paid by the United States did not see an equal return. Iran, its old enemy in the Middle East, has more influence than it in Iraq.
The Americans' reflection on the Iraq War, just as how they reflected on the Vietnam War years ago, mostly focuses on their own interests but rarely reviews the long-term impact of the war on Iraq. In the view of Americans, today's Iraq is "an Iraq that is self-governing, inclusive and has enormous potential.”
But the fact is that over the past eight years, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed, millions became refugees, and a large portion of the social elite immigrated abroad. Agonies left by the war continue in Fallujah, where two fierce battles recently broke out.
Many newborns are malformed as the U.S. troops used white phosphorous bombs and other chemical weapons during the war. A local hospital doctor said, "As many as 12 babies born on Oct. 11 are malformed." The local water purification and sewage treatment systems have not yet been completed due to the shortage of reconstruction funds.
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