One of my favorite scenes in the Night at the Museum sequel was when the two main characters stepped into the photograph of the celebration of VJ Day in Times Square.  The ramifications of our victory in Japan aside, the nation was celebrating not just the end of a long and costly war, but that we very likely saved the world.  When the pictures of the last combat brigade leaving Iraq were broadcast a little over 55 years later, there was no celebration.  In fact, the prevailing question seems to be “was it worth it?”

After World War II, part of the reason we still have bases in both Germany and Japan is because we stayed after the wars, arguably, to help the countries rebuild.  As the American military presence falls to the 50,000-troop level at the end of this month, we are leaving Iraq with rubble in the streets, shortages of water, and very little access to electricity, which is ironic since Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world.

The problem is that the Iraqi government is, at best, ineffectual.  Elections were held in the country five months ago and the four prevailing political parties have yet to decide how their government will work together.  Officials in the media, both American and Iraqi, assure the world that this process is taking the time it needs to be successful, but for the Iraqi families that lack homes and basic services, what little hope they might have had is fading.  This is not to say that the surge “failed” in that it was supposed to give the Iraqis time to work out their government.  Politicians in Iraq no longer conspire to eliminate their adversaries with violence, but now with votes.  The voters are no longer being intimidated, but are now being persuaded with the same type of pandering and trickery that is the hallmark of American political campaigns.

The Obama Administration is deftly avoiding the mistake the Bush Administration made by explicitly saying that while combat operations are at an end, this is not “Mission Accomplished.”  Perhaps that is why this happened so quietly, with only NBC covering the story live from Iraq as opposed to the literally hundreds of embedded reporters that were there for the invasion.  It is not exactly accurate to say that there are no more combat troops in Iraq.  Many of the remaining troops are indeed combat arms; however, the “Brigade Combat Teams” rebranded “Advisory and Assistance Brigades.”  These troops will still be in harm’s way while they both advise and assist the Iraqi Security Forces.

Certain elements once handled by the Department of Defense have now been handed over to the State Department, for example, the training of Iraqi police forces.  There are currently 72,000 DoD contractors in Iraq and the State Department will be bringing in even more.  7000 private security contractors are being deployed to Iraq by the State Department, but unlike the scandals that surrounded Blackwater, these contractors are subject to Iraqi law and must be registered as actually being in the country.

While there will be no celebration in Times Square marking the end of this war, we can look at this period of change in Iraq either positively or negatively.  The people of Iraq are suffering, but positive strides have been made in the political process of the country.  There will still be 50,000 troops in Iraq, possibly in harm’s way, but the 4th Stryker Brigade took no fire on their final convoy and, more importantly, didn’t lose one soldier during their entire tour.