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exit Iraq by 2012 (Zoepf & Dagher, 2008). On November 28, 2008, after nearly a year of negotiations with the United States, Iraq’s parliament signed a pact that required a full withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2011. The agreement represented a significant concession by the departing Bush administration because it had previously rejected setting any timetable for removing U.S. troops from Iraq. The agreement also gave Iraq’s parliament an expanded role in approving and overseeing U.S. military operations there. In particular, it required U.S. troops to obtain a warrant before searching homes or detaining Iraqis, except in active combat (Levinson, 2008). It also included a clear ban against the United States launching attacks on Iraq’s neighbors from within its borders. The agreement gave Iraqi authorities the power to inspect all cargo arriving at U.S. bases in Iraq. The deal stipulated that U.S. troops and contractors who committed major crimes could face trial before an Iraqi court if the offenses were committed when U.S. troops were off duty and off base. Iraq’s parliament sought such authority and jurisdiction because the Bush administration had previously insisted on the exclusive right to prosecute U.S. troops for virtually all offenses committed there, including those committed against Iraqi citizens—a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions. The 2008 agreement was G. W. Bush’s final action in a war he had launched illegally nearly six full years earlier and that his successor would inherit. On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama, a relatively less experienced senator (Democrat) from Illinois who promised the people of the United States hope and change, was elected the forty-fourth president of the United States in a decisive victory over his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain from Arizona. Barack Obama exhibited a thoughtful approach and poise throughout his campaign that inspired nearly sixty-seven million Americans to vote for him, including many first-time voters. His message of change resonated with Americans, who were disillusioned and alienated after eight years of deceit and failures by the Bush administration. President Obama offered the promise of a new, more inclusive U.S. foreign policy—one freed from President Bush’s aggressive and simplistic us-versusthem ideology. It was uncertain in the early spring of 2009 what the Obama presidency would mean to the world but his message of change was embraced globally, even by nations with a history of grievances toward the United States such as Syria, North Korea, and Iran. For example, shortly after the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted that President Obama would replace Bush’s oppressive foreign policies with an approach based on fairness and respect, and a lack of intervention (military or otherwise) in the affairs of sovereign nations. The Iranian president was responding to Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to meet with adversarial heads of state in order to discuss their differences, without requiring What Are the Lessons of the Iraq War? 171 preconditions for such meetings. In contrast, President G. W. Bush had refused to even meet with certain leaders such as Ahmadinejad unless he ful- filled preconditions established by the United States. Republican presidential candidate John McCain had advocated the same unilateral approach as Bush throughout his campaign. In fact, the hegemonic ideology of McCain was apparent even in his callous attempts at humor prior to the 2008 election. On the campaign trail, for example, McCain made an infamous gaffe when he sang “bomb, bomb Iran” to the melody of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann.” Although Barack Obama displayed many impressive skills throughout the 2008 presidential race, his decisive victory over McCain was in large part a reaction by American voters to the lies and corruption of the G. W. Bush administration. The moral panic engineered by the Bush administration was highly successful in garnering initial support for the invasion of Iraq, but it later triggered resentment among a substantial portion of the U.S. public when the Bush administration’s prewar lies were revealed, and the war itself brought tremendous human suffering, loss of life, and staggering financial debt. The U.S. public’s animosity toward Bush was manifested in his job approval rating, which dropped below 25% before he left office, as well as in Obama’s decisive victory in the 2008 presidential election. Obama rode the tide of public dissatisfaction with President Bush and Vice President Cheney to become the first African-American...

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