When President Obama addressed the nation to "talk to us about the end of our combat mission in Iraq" he counted on you accepting him at his word. Obama hopes that you will believe that the 50,000 fully armed U.S. troops are no longer engaged in combat missions. He wants you to forget that there are 100,000 fully armed private security forces still in Iraq. Just this past week the New York Times reported that, "Blackwater created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries, in part to obtain millions of dollars in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, according to Congressional investigators and former Blackwater officials." President Obama doesn't want you to think about the plan in 2011 for this expanding "private" army to take over the war in Iraq.
President Obama doesn't want you to think about the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq that is now costing $700 million to build and $1 billion a year to maintain. The 104-acre complex is designed to be the largest embassy in the world. To put this into perspective, the embassy in Beijing built in 2008 was 10 acres. The "embassy" in Iraq is the size of Vatican City.
President Obama doesn't want you to think too hard about all of this because he knows that U. S. troops will still be on security patrols and that American Special Operations Forces will continue their hunt for enemies. Firefights are inevitable. 150,000 armed troops and mercenaries able to engage and "defend themselves." President Obama wants you to believe that the Iraq War is over. Do you?