President Barack Obama officially announced his administration’s plan to end the war in Iraq, pulling out all but a provisional force by August 31, 2010.

We of the Campus Antiwar Network, NIU chapter, applaud the president’s efforts, as well as any developments that lead to less violence and more self-determinism for the Iraqi people. It has always been our stated desire to see combat troops back home.

However, there are many aspects of this new development we find troubling.

When the last of the troops comes home that August 31, 50,000 soldiers will remain behind as a “peacekeeping force.” That’s the entire city of DeKalb, plus 10,000 more, staying out there in the desert indefinitely. When that is the definition of the war being over, we can’t help but hear echoes of President Bush’s famous “mission accomplished.”

Also disturbing is the realization that 17,000 troops have just been sent to bolster forces in Afghanistan, with more sure to be on the way, especially when they start pulling out of Iraq.

The 2010 freshman class at NIU will have been in middle school when we invaded Iraq and elementary school when we invaded Afghanistan. We are raising a generation of children who won’t remember peace, won’t remember a time when we weren’t at war with someone, somewhere. Do we really want our upcoming generations to believe that this sort of thing is normal and constant?

It is because of these things that C.A.N. will continue to pressure the administration to end the war in Iraq sooner, and more definitively, without these sort of troop levels being maintained after the war is over. Furthermore, it is our belief that Afghanistan cannot become a place where our troops are forced to hang their camouflage hats for decades to come.

Those things being said, even these announced drawdowns are encouraging and cause for celebration. So C.A.N. cheers these developments and hopes that this is a sign of further peaceful initiatives in the future.

Mariel Mentink

senior visual communications major

The Campus Antiwar Network