Tonight, President Obama will address the nation to officially announce the end of combat forces in Iraq. In doing so, he is holding to a campaign promise many thought impossible and reaffirming our commitment to security, promoting democratization, and eliminating Al Qaeda. These are all very good things for the United States, as well as for the Iraqi people who now have the opportunity to grow as a nation into a democracy and experience freedoms held from them for so long under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, and to overcome the fear of a return to tyranny under Al Queda and the threat of civil war.
However, just as the administration will not be making strong declarations such as “Mission Accomplished,” Iraq is still a fragile state. There is a big question that remains, and that is whether the remaining 50,000 boots on the ground will be able to achieve the necessary objectives to help maintain peace and offer the support necessary for Iraq to fully stand on its own two feet with a working democratic government.
Douglas E. Schoen is a political strategist, Fox News contributor and author of the forthcoming book "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System" to be published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins on September 14.
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