Don’t Trip on Those Milestones Strewn Across America’s Wars

June 1, 2016

Tags: drone, milestone, Obama, Taliban
Posted in: Afghanistan, Embassy/State, Iraq, Military

Barack Obama called the drone assassination on May 21 of Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, “an important milestone.”

It might turn out to be. But I doubt it. My advice is every time you hear an American official use the term “milestone,” run the other way.

For example, back in September 2014 Secretary of State John Kerry claimed the formation of a new Iraqi government then was “a major milestone” for the country. But on the same day that Obama was proclaiming his own milestone, protesters stormed the Green Zone in Baghdad seeking the end of that previous milestone government.


But in case you’re not convinced, let’s take a look back at milestones and their companion, turning points, from the last Iraq War.

“This month will be a political turning point for Iraq,” Douglas Feith, July 2003

“We’ve reached another great turning point,” Bush, November 2003

“That toppling of Saddam Hussein… was a turning point for the Middle East,” Bush, March 2004

“Turning Point in Iraq,” The Nation, April 2004

“A turning point will come two weeks from today,” Bush, June 2004

“Marines Did a Good Job in Fallujah, a Battle That Might Prove a Turning Point,” Columnist Max Boot, July 2004

“Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq,” Bush, January 2005

“The Iraqi election of January 30, 2005… will turn out to have been a genuine turning point,” William Kristol, February 2005

“On January 30th in Iraq, the world witnessed … a major turning point,” Rumsfeld, February 2005

“I believe may be seen as a turning point in the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism.” Senator Joe Lieberman, December 2005

“The elections were the turning point. … 2005 was the turning point,” Cheney, December 2005

“2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq… and the history of freedom,” Bush, December 2005

“We believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens, and it’s a new chapter in our partnership,” Bush, May 2006

“We have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror,” Bush, May 2006

“This is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens.” Bush, August 2006

“When a key Republican senator comes home from Iraq and says the US has to re-think its strategy, is this a new turning point?” NBC Nightly News, October 2006

“Iraq: A Turning Point: Panel II: Reports from Iraq.” American Enterprise Institute, January 2007

“This Bush visit could well mark a key turning point in the war in Iraq and the war on terror,” Frederick W. Kagan, September 2007

“Bush Defends Iraq War in Speech… he touted the surge as a turning point in a war he acknowledged was faltering a year ago,” New York Times, March 2008

“The success of the surge in Iraq will go down in history as a turning point in the war against al-Qaeda,” The Telegraph, December 2008

“Iraq’s ‘Milestone’ Day Marred by Fatal Blast,” Washington Post, July 2009

“Iraq vote “an important milestone,” Obama, March 2010

“Iraq Withdrawal Signals New Phase, But War is Not Over,” ABC News, August 2010

“Why the Iraq milestone matters,” Foreign Policy, August 2010

“Iraq Milestone No Thanks to Obama,” McCain, September 2010

“Hails Iraq ‘milestone’ after power-sharing deal, ” Obama, November 2010

“Week’s event marks a major milestone for Iraq,” Council on Foreign Relations, March 2012

“National elections ‘important milestone’ for Iraq,” Ban Ki Moon, April 2014

“Iraq PM nomination ‘key milestone,'” Joe Biden, August 2014

Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.