Last night, President Barack Obama declared the conclusion of combat operations in Iraq, yet 50,000 troops remain to support Iraqi troops and finish the logistical chores that will allow us to abandon the fight completely next year. It did not feel like an end to a war that many Americans have been disengaged from for years. Much of the sacrifice concentrated in a relatively small community of service members and civilian officials.
"The shift here is that the Iraqis are in the lead, and they have responsibility for security of their country," Ben Rhodes, one of the president's national-security advisers, said in a conference call earlier in the day. "That's not to minimize the fact that there are troops there who have a very important function and at times will be in danger."
It's hard to imagine a different scenario for the United States' exit from Iraq; our departure depended on the circumstances of our entrance and the murky twists of the changing conflict. The president marked the occasion with a rare Oval Office address not only because it marks the fulfillment of a campaign promise but because it marks an explicit shift in Obama's focus from foreign to domestic policy.
Obama's earliest success on the national stage came from his opposition to the war in Iraq and his ability to weave the contentious question of the conflict's necessity into a broader narrative of change that appealed to liberals and independents alike, first in his 2004 campaign for Senate and then on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 2007 and through the spring of 2008, it appeared his presidential campaign and hypothetical administration would revolve largely around questions of foreign policy and engagement abroad.
The financial crisis and recession forced the president, however, to face a portfolio of issues far from the foreign sphere where he was most comfortable. Not only did they tax his and his aides' time but they also imposed real costs on the government: Weakness in the economy was mirrored in an overstretched federal budget and a greater reliance on good relations with fractious international players like China and Russia.
Obama didn't abandon his ambitious foreign-policy agenda -- today, a new round of negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli officials begins in Washington -- but even where there is some progress, the pace is slow. The conflict in Afghanistan is an increasingly harsh proving ground for the administration's whole-of-government, progressive foreign-policy ideas. With Gen. David Petraeus -- a proven ender of wars -- now in command, we can hope for a sleight of hand similar to what the accomplished soldier achieved in Iraq: The careful nurturing of bold ideas amid a broad lowering of expectations, followed by cobbled-together political resolution and staggered withdrawals.
In his speech, Obama made clear he still hopes to deliver a similar address on Afghanistan in 2011: "Next August, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility. ... Make no mistake: This transition will begin -- because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people's."
Yet last night Obama marked another important transition: "Our most urgent task is to restore our economy." Though two of his administration's signature accomplishments, the stimulus package and financial reform, came in the economic sphere, the president has not given economic policy the full force of his attention and must do so now as the stimulus wraps up. The shape of this effort to reclaim pocketbook issues remains unclear but will begin with piece-meal jobs legislation in the fall before a reassessment in the wake of the midterm elections that will surely damage the president's party.
Obama did not quite tell Americans that confronting the challenges of economic recovery at home will be the moral equivalent of war, but he did tie in the spirit of soldiers serving abroad with the need to strengthen the country domestically. His subtle admonishment of his political opposition (amid graceful compliments to President George W. Bush's intentions that will curdle among his base) is a reminder of the bitter debates over the Iraq War he pledged to transcend -- and why more White House participation is needed in economic policy-making, where gridlock is now the status quo.
The president also cast his turn to the economy in the context of his global agenda; he noted that strength at home has always been the foundation to projecting influence abroad. He's seen the importance of China to the American economy in his negotiations with the rising power, and the need for American economic leadership in Europe's early mismanagement of the Greek debt crisis. With many of his foreign-policy plans in a holding pattern, his work at home might give the United States a much-needed future boost abroad.
When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, President Gerald Ford's announcement was practically an aside in a speech to students at Tulane University: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam," Ford said. "But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Ford was trying to move the country past a war that had grown from a limited mandate to dominate every part of the political sphere, just as Obama did last night.
Before his speech, Ford met with his advisers.
"What I want to get across is the idea of all the challenges awaiting college students today," Ford said. "I want to give them a feeling of purpose, of being needed. They should think about the future, stop arguing about the past. Vietnam has been going on ever since any of them can remember. Well, the war's over."
Last night, Obama attempted the same appeal. It's needed now as many Americans confront economic doldrums that leave them angry and unsatisfied with their leaders. Obama did his best to end the Iraq War's polarizing grip on our politics and lay to rest a part of his career as well. Now he has new challenges to face; let's just hope that he transcends the example of Ford ("My goal is to make America independent of foreign energy sources by 1985") and pulls us out of this recession with the same focus that is bringing our troops home from Iraq.
