The New Forgotten War - Iraq

BBC News: Reports on the visit of US VP Biden to Iraq, while the VP was Baghdad there was terrorists strikes near the US Embassy. Iraq has become the new forgotten War in the Obama White House, the Bush 43 surge worked thus by the time President Obama took over in January of 2009, it was Afghanistan that become the hot topic in town, lets recall folks that the US as reported by icasualties.org has lost 4344 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Iraq, if you include the losses of its Allies such as the UK the total goes up to 4662. The US has withdrawn from the towns, and by next August next year the majority of US troops will be out of Iraq. The last forces of around thirty five to fifty thousand troops will leave in 2011. The next hurdle in Iraq will be the elections next year, it is important that they go off with out bloodshed or the mess of Afghanistan. The New York Times writes the following on the Biden visit and the elections next year, " intended to focus on political issues as Iraqi leaders position themselves ahead of national elections.......have increasingly colored almost every thing the government has done....." Thus all politics is local, for the Obama Administration it is essential that Iraq does not blow up like Afghanistan, if the bloodbath of the first three years after the invasion is repeated this would throw the Obama Foreign Policy off kilter. Also it is important for President Obama that the different ethnic groups take part and see Iraq as united country and do not try to split Iraq as was the original idea of then Senator Biden. If Iraq was to go up in flames like Afghanistan it would be down to Obama, Bush 43 with his surge calmed the troubles, if the US starts to lose troops again it will be down to the Obama White House. Thus the reason for the VP visit, Obama does not want to hear the call that the Democrats can add Iraq to the countries they have lost while they have been power, the loss of China in the late 40s really hurt the Democratic Party.