Question:
On Saturday, December 31, 2011, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the start of Iraq's celebrations for the departure of U.S. forces. This followed his two-day visit to America on December 12, 2011, where he met President Obama, Vice President Biden (who is responsible for the Iraq file), and Secretary of State Clinton to discuss the post-withdrawal situation. On December 15, 2011, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced the implementation of the decision to end U.S. military operations in Iraq during a small ceremony at Baghdad Airport, where the American flag was lowered and the Iraqi flag was raised in its place.
What is the opinion on these celebrations? Has America truly withdrawn completely from Iraq? Did it fail to achieve its goals, or did it achieve the influence it sought and the destruction of Iraq as a unified, effective state? And does the withdrawal provide an electoral benefit for Obama?
Answer:
Celebrating the end of occupation is a significant matter, for Allah (swt) has forbidden the disbelievers from having influence over the lands of the Muslims:
وَلَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا
"And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way [to triumph] over the believers." (QS. An-Nisa [4]: 141)
However, this is only true if the occupation has actually vanished—roots, stems, and leaves alike—such that its influence, ideas, laws, symbols, agents, and those who glorify it are gone. Only then does the celebration carry the taste of victory and joy:
وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ
"And on that day the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah." (QS. Ar-Rum [30]: 4-5)
But if the occupation remains in form and substance, and only its name has been altered, then the celebration has no taste of victory or joy.
To clarify the reality of the answer, we review the following points:
It is well known that before the current administration under Obama took office, America had already decided to withdraw from Iraq. The previous administration under Bush, who made the decision to invade, imposed a security agreement on Iraq on November 17, 2008, to ensure permanent influence. The first clause of Article 24 of this agreement stipulated the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2011. The current administration came to implement that withdrawal decision. This withdrawal also fulfills Obama's promises during his first election campaign, which contributed to his success, even though he did not personally conclude the agreement. He exploited it in his campaign and incorporated its implementation into his upcoming re-election campaign for next year.
A careful examination reveals that America has not left Iraq permanently except in a direct military sense. It has managed to maintain its forces under various pretexts, such as U.S. Embassy staff, contractors, and trainers for the Iraqi forces to help them take over their duties, stationed at four bases in Iraq, as reported. The retention of these forces under the guise of embassy staff or trainers was because America noticed that the Iraqi public was against granting immunity to military forces, and some parliamentary blocs declared they would not vote for such a decision. Consequently, America, in collusion with al-Maliki and his government, kept hundreds of soldiers under the pretext of training alongside thousands of embassy employees and contractors, reaching a total of 16,000! Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on December 13, 2011: "The issue of immunity was solved in a circumventive manner that may be explained by the fact that the United States Embassy in Baghdad will be the largest in the world, with a staff of 16,000." This means the Americans achieved what they wanted—retaining diplomatically immune elements under different names. They implemented their withdrawal program for uniformed troops (except for a few) while maintaining a massive number in civilian clothing. Al-Maliki and other agents in Iraq were complicit in this with full knowledge. This was planned years ago when America decided to build its largest embassy in the world in Baghdad to accommodate this huge number of personnel. This embassy is considered another form of an American military base, besides being a massive nest for espionage, from which it will manage Iraqi affairs from behind the scenes. Indeed, it is from here that conspiracies will be hatched and strife and divisions will be stirred among its people, as has been done since the occupation began. Furthermore, they will maintain hundreds of soldiers and contractors in four bases, meaning they will manage four bases under the titles of trainers and experts!
America occupied Iraq to extend its hegemony and influence, to strike at the influence of competing Western powers, to make it a base for itself in the region, to plunder its resources, to impose its systems and way of life, and to destroy its power to prevent it from becoming a strong base for unifying the Ummah and establishing the rule of its Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise. For this reason, it maintained that huge number of contractors and employees in its largest embassy in the world and bound Iraq with security agreements, strategic partnerships, and other agreements in various fields. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden alluded to this during his visit to Baghdad, saying: "Three years ago, the two countries signed the Strategic Framework Agreement, which confirmed the desire of both countries to establish long-term ties of cooperation and friendship. The Strategic Framework Agreement is an ongoing agreement and represents the foundation upon which our mutually beneficial relations will be built" (Al-Jazeera, November 30, 2011). Obama stated similar sentiments in his joint press conference with al-Maliki on December 12, 2011: "The United States will remain a strong and permanent partner for Baghdad after the last American soldier withdraws from Iraq." Clause 1 of Article 27 of the security agreement states: "Upon the emergence of any external or internal threat against Iraq or the occurrence of any aggression against it that would violate its sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, waters, airspace, or threaten its democratic system or elected institutions, and upon the request of the Government of Iraq, the Parties shall immediately begin strategic deliberations, and as they may mutually agree, the United States shall take appropriate measures, including diplomatic, military, or any other measures, to deter such a threat." This article makes American military intervention easy through collusion with any puppet government, agreeing that the situation necessitates it!
America has destroyed Iraq, setting it back decades into underdevelopment and weakness. It killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of its people, displaced millions, created strife and sectarian divisions, and drafted a harmful constitution of disbelief (Dhirar) that exposes the country to partition, as it includes the right to declare internally independent regions. It left Iraq groaning under many issues to keep it dependent, alongside the agreements that bound Iraq and the agents it created to maintain this connection and support the continuation of American influence and hegemony. Obama described the binding of Iraq to America and ensuring its loyalty as a partnership, saying: "We are building a new partnership between our two countries... ending a war not with a final battle, but with a final march home," and "This is an extraordinary achievement" (AFP, December 15, 2011).
In conclusion, although America faced strong blows from the resistance that taught it a lesson it will not forget, it has achieved its objectives in Iraq. It announced its withdrawal after imposing a system that follows its lead, a harmful constitution of disbelief (Dhirar) that divides the country and destabilizes it, and security and strategic agreements that bind the country to the Americans and place it at their mercy. This justifies agents seeking American help whenever they feel their corrupt rule is threatened! Furthermore, it announced its withdrawal after establishing a large quasi-military base under the name of a massive embassy containing 16,000 Americans to maintain American influence in any form and kept its presence in four bases under the name of trainers and experts. This embassy and these bases are a massive nest for spies! Unless the roots of America and its attachments are severed from the Land of Mesopotamia, the withdrawal will not be complete.
Despite all this, America knows that in Iraq there are men strong in their Lord and proud of their Deen. They lack only a sincere and loyal leadership in Iraq. At that moment, the table will be turned on America and its agents, and they will turn their backs in flight. And that is not difficult for Allah.