How should his words be interpreted? If Perle also apologized, would that mean everything is over and done with? The US devastated a country that was one of the essential centers of civilization in the world, seized thousands of its historical works, destroyed its infrastructure, killed more than a million people, forced 4.5 million to emigrate, smuggled their oil and now they are saying, “It was a mistake.” This is a declaration not of the end of the occupation, the legitimacy of which was doubtful from the very beginning,, but of the end of ethical values. The war lobby is falling apart. Authorities in the pro-war “civilian wing” of the Pentagon and the White House have already boxed their personal belongings and vacated their offices. Former US President George W. Bush said he would not withdraw US troops from Iraq and lost public support. Current US President Barack Obama's vow to gradually withdraw troops was the Anglo-Saxon alliance's last step before their final maneuver.But there is still uncertainty. When and how the occupying forces will withdraw from Iraq will continue to be an important item on the agenda. There are some conclusions that can be made about the recent developments. Iraq as a whole is not completely satisfied with America's realization of having lost the war, or with the certainty that troops will leave. There are some groups that are unhappy with this development. Among these groups, the most important one is the Kurds, who believe this period has offered them an unprecedented opportunity. If the US withdraws from Iraq and leaves the Kurds on their own, this will not only hinder the program the Kurds have prepared, but also leave countries in the region to themselves. While the right thing is to leave regional countries alone and allow them to conduct negotiations and search for a common solution without the help of third parties, for one reason or another, non-regional forces have intervened in regional issues at every level. The Sufis have a great saying that goes “Sorrow gives birth to a blessing.” Leaving the Kurds to themselves forced them to move closer to Turkey, and this is a rather good development.
Along with the Kurdish group, there are some countries in the region that are not joyful about the US withdrawing from Iraq, at least not at this point. According to the threat assessment of these countries, the region has fallen under Iranian domination. Shiites have realized their own strength and have become political. The occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, Israel's bloody attack on Lebanon and the developments in Palestine in recent years have done nothing more than bring Iran to the forefront. Iran was disturbing the Taliban in the east and Saddam Hussein's Baath regime in the west. The Shiites were not expecting to be able to take political initiative this early. But everything changes quickly. The region embarked on a different course, and Iran declared that it was the only force that could resist Israel and that it would not allow the US to make arrangements in the region all by itself. Certainly this challenge by Iran forced not only the US, but also the UK and Israel, to think long and hard. The one point we can say about Iran at the moment is that it appears to be very successful with its policies.
There is a new picture before us. The UK, which had aligned with the US in the beginning, is no longer appearing in the front of the line. Those with sharp vision can see that this country, which has a 300-year experience of colonialism, is a shadow in the very front of this picture. The failure of the US's estimations, which lacked depth and elaboration, proves that it has not been able to fully succeed in its efforts. What the US benefited from in the expensive Vietnam War, which caused great grief, is still unclear. Now let's look at what's happening in Iraq one more time.
The US entered Iraq like an elephant entering a glassworks shop and destroyed and broke everything. It suffered cuts and injuries to itself and now wants to get out of the situation. Its strategic ally, the UK, is preparing a “remodeling and repairing” plan. The US, not having learned a lesson from Vietnam and Iraq, is now making the same mistakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Who is controlling the US's mind?
