US troops go home - Sadly, ordeal is far from over for Iraq

NEARLY a decade after the US war on Iraq began with “shock and awe” and spectacular, televised missile attacks on Baghdad, US defence secretary and former CIA chief Leon Panetta yesterday presided at a ceremony marking the official end of America’s direct involvement in the hostilities.

Almost 4,500 American troops — and hundreds more British soldiers — died in the war, but that figure pales into insignificance when compared to the estimated 100,000 Iraqi lives lost since the campaign to remove Saddam Hussein began. Sadly, the Iraqi toll will continue to rise and the ongoing tragedy is unlikely to distinguish between innocent citizens or armed belligerents so Iraq’s ordeal is far from over.

Saddam has been removed and executed but millions of Iraqis still face an uncertain future. Murderous sectarianism is a daily feature of their lives and they must wonder what has been achieved by the intervention of the world’s superpower and its allies from over 20 countries.