Analysts say the US withdrawal of its combat troops from Iraq and emphasis on training and advisory roles is aimed at disguising its continued military presence there.
US President Barack Obama in his September 1 speech formally declared an end to his country's combat operations in Iraq. Nearly 50,000 troops that are remaining in the country to advice and train Iraqi security forces are to leave by the end of 2011.
In his article "Rebranding the US Mission in Iraq: Welcome 'Advisors' and 'Assisters'," renowned journalist Eric Margolis rejected the concept of a full US withdrawal from Iraq, which has cost Washington $700 billion to date.
The article published on Huffington Post's news website pointed out that the remaining non-combat US troops would likely entail six heavy armor combat brigades backed by warplanes from US air bases in the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, a US brigade withdrawn from Iraq would be deployed in neighboring Kuwait and most of the rest would be transferred to Afghanistan, Margolis said, noting that nearly 85,000 US-paid mercenaries continue to operate in Iraq.
He further explained that the current security contract between Washington and Baghdad allows for the US to indefinitely retain all air rights over the country, which enables the United States to exert military pressure on regional Middle East nations.
Describing America's trinity as "God, guns and gasoline," Margolis highlighted Iraq's vast oil reserves, the world's second largest after Saudi Arabia, as what the US cannot turn a blind eye to.
America's oil giants have been forced out of most of the world's oil fields by nationalist governments and replaced by state petroleum companies, he said, attributing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's ouster to his move to expel US, British and French oil firms from the country.
"The US does not yet need Iraq's oil, but controlling it gives the US potent influence over its importers, such as China, India, Japan and Europe. Control of Mideast oil remains a pillar of US geopolitical world power," he added.
Margolis further argued that a $740 million US project to build a new embassy in Baghdad for 800 personnel, as well as new fortified embassies in Kabul and Islamabad, that may hold 1,000 "diplomats," cast doubt on Obama's pull-out pledges.
On the consequences of the US-led invasion of Iraq and its years of military presence, the author cited estimates putting the civilian death toll at the mid-hundreds of thousands to one million. These estimates do not take into account UN reports that 500,000 Iraqi children had lost their lives during the US-led sanctions prior to the 2003 invasion.
"Large numbers of Iraqi doctors and scientists have been murdered - many Iraqis believe, without any hard evidence, by Israel's Mossad. A maze of US-built concrete walls cut up and control major cities. Electricity only sputters a few hours daily in 40 C heat. Cancers from depleted uranium fired by US cannons are becoming epidemic, as they are in Afghanistan," the article read.
Iraq will witness a more violent and turbulent future with US troops remaining to protect America's oil companies and prevent the Mideast nation from disintegrating, but the troops will remain under the pretext of "fighting terrorism," Margolis predicted.
