Iraq's occupation comes to a close

Dubai: The last US soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border yesterday, officially ending the ugly legacy of the Iraq War that former US president George W. Bush left behind.

The war which claimed more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and turned millions into refugees and displaced peoples has caused the US much grief. Not only was its international image tainted as a pariah country with no regard for international consensus, but it sucked over $800 billion (Dh 2.938 trillion) from the US treasury and has left Americans wondering whether the war was worth it at all?

Singled out

Following the 9/11 attacks, Bush declared a "war on terror" and singled out Iraqi president Saddam Hussain as a chief sponsor of terror, accusing him of harbouring weapons of mass destruction. The pretence to convince Americans and an international coalition to go to war with Iraq in 2003, turned out later to be false.

Meanwhile, Iraqis are now left with a country plagued by corruption, sectarianism and an army ill-prepared to deal with foreign threats. A handful of US military personnel will remain in the country, along with 2,000 diplomats and 14,000 contractors nearly half involved in security.