Iraqi War Ends with Little Reaction from Public

JENNIFER PIERCE
Copy Editor

On Dec. 18, under the cover of night, the last convoy of American troops left Iraq for Kuwait. Meaning neither victory nor defeat, this action officially marked the end of the Iraqi War that first began in 2003.
Following the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, an uproar by the American people to take arms immediately ensued.
On March 20, 2003, the U.S. led a coalition of 49 countries to overthrow the government in Iraq. The Iraqi government was overthrown in three weeks. The U.S. spent the rest of the time rebuilding Iraq as a democracy.
However, the prolonged war and financial struggles caused unrest and the American public cried out for its end. Now that it is over, little to no reaction is being made by the public.
“I feel relieved but without any personal attachment to the war. […] I feel disconnected, like there wasn’t much to celebrate for […] because I felt like the plea to ‘bring our soldiers back’ is outdated and used much too often,” senior Gordon Ip said.
In some people’s minds, the war never really ended due to the economic crisis that is currently at hand. With over 15 trillion dollars accumulated in debt over the past eight to nine years, the war will continue to cost Americans after its end.
Others are concerned about America’s military presence in other overseas countries.
“The reason people aren’t making a big commotion about the troops being pulled from Iraq is because we still have troops stationed in Afghanistan, so it still doesn’t seem as though the war is over. People are unsure if troops will remain out of Iraq,” American Government teacher Kristi La Pointe said.
Even though President Obama has been gradually withdrawing troops since his election in 2008, many people felt the war had gone on too long and the promises to take out troops were empty.
“I expected our government to bring our soldiers back so much earlier and long ago, but it never really happened, so I sort of gave up emotional investment upon that subject,” Ip said.
The apparent disinterest and disconnect could have also caused Americans to stop paying attention to what was going on overseas.
“Many people are uninformed and have grown apathetic to the war, so they don’t realize that the troops have been pulled out of Iraq,” La Pointe said.
Despite the small reaction, how the end of the war affects the future of America is the question on many people’s minds. For President Obama, this could mean a more tightly secured election in the upcoming year.
“[The end of the war] took years to happen, as would any political involvement as major as this, but it happened, and I think this actually may have a positive impact on Obama’s reelection,” senior Josephine Leong said.