The War in Iraq: A rendezvous with tragedy. :

1. The War in Iraq: A rendezvous with tragedy.:

2. The Iraq war, also known as Operation Iraqi freedom will be approaching it’s fourth anniversary. The war so far has killed approximately 4,257 American soldiers and 99,000 Iraqis. The majority of U.S. high-command officials have never been to Iraq, or have not been briefed on the nation’s culture, beliefs, and ways of life. If the high staff listened to the available information, instead of creating their own, Iraq would be a much better place to live.

5. Under the Under the command of President Obama, troops will be supposedly removed by 2011. This will no doubt be a strenuous act, which will to doubt test the small amount of soldiers scheduled to stay.

6. Think 2009! • Jan. 1, 2009 The Iraqi government takes control of the Green Zone, the heavily fortified area that houses the offices and homes of most American and Iraqi government officials. The U.S. had been responsible for security in the Green Zone until this point. • Jan. 31, 2009 Iraq holds local elections to create provincial councils. The elections are notable for their lack of violence and the noticeably diminished role the U.S. plays in their implementation. Voter turnout varies widely by area, with some regions reporting less than 50% participation and others more than 75%. • Feb. 9, 2009 In the worst single loss to the American military in nine months, a suicide bomber kills four American soldiers in the northern Iraq city of Mosul. The bomber's vehicle exploded as the soldiers' Humvee drove past. Three of the soldiers died at the scene while the other later died at a nearby hospital. Three Iraqis were also injured in the blast. • Feb. 13, 2009 A female suicide bomber kills 35 Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, the deadliest attack in a string of bombings. Most of the dead are women and children, who were walking in an annual procession to the holy city of Karbala "to commemorate Arbaeen, which marks the end of the mourning period for Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad," according to The New York Times. • Feb. 27, 2009 In front of a crowd of Marines in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, President Obama announced his intention to withdraw most American troops out of Iraq by August 31, 2010. As many as 50,000 troops will remain there for smaller missions and to train Iraqi soldiers. Camp Lejeune is the largest marine camp on the East Coast, and 8,000 troops there will soon be shipped to Afghanistan. • Mar. 8, 2009 A suicide bomber killed 28 people and injured 57 when his motorcycle, laden with explosives, blew up near a Police Academy in Baghdad. Five of the dead were police officers. • Mar. 10, 2009 Another 33 people are killed by a suicide bomber in Baghdad, this time aimed at a group of Iraqi army officers. 46 others were injured.

7. The war has torn the nations, people, economy, and government apart. Ever since President Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech, the conflict has erupted in every heavily populated area in Iraq.

8. (The Iraqi navy was not deployed in the conflict.) FIN.

9. Bibliography • Afary, Janet. The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906–1911: Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy, and the Origins of Feminism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. • Alnasrawi, Abbas. The Economy of Iraq: Oil, Wars, Destruction of Development and Prospects, 1950–2010. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. • Arnove, Anthony. Iraq under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War. Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2000. • Bulloch, John. Saddam's War: The Origins of the Kuwait Conflict and the International Response. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1991. • Cordesman, Anthony H. Iraq: Sanctions and Beyond. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997.