Today is an official holiday in Iraq: National Sovereignty Day. Today marks the "official withdrawal" deadline of US troops from Iraqi cities and streets. Since January, when an agreement between Iraq and Washington DC went into effect to gradually withdraw troops from Iraq, over 150 bases have closed. Didn't know that?  Stop following Michael Jackson autopsy coverage and pay attention to the world around you, man.

And the Iraqi government isn't missing the opportunity to build on their new sense of nationalism and independence calling today "a great victory" over the occupiers.  What thanks!  Um, you're welcome for the sectarian war.  Um, you're welcome for the loss of civilian lives.  Um, you're welcome for opening up your oil fields for auction to foreign investors.  So ungrateful!

The truth of the matter is, about 10,000 American "trainers" will still reside in Iraq—training Iraqi police forces to resume control, to guard against the insurgency and to take over their own security. Plus there are many thousand more private contractors (some armed, some unarmed) who do not have any withdrawal deadline at all. Additionally, many thousand more troops (upwards of 130,000 by some accounts) will remain in "forward operating bases," to be called upon when (or if?) the insurgency increases the violence. And if the lead up to today's deadline is any indication, the American troops will be called upon. We've seen several strategic bomb attacks in recent weeks, particularly in places where American bases once were—a signal by the insurgency to demonstrate their strength and an effort to demonstrate the Iraqi government's inability to maintain their own security without American help.  In total, over 250 Iraqis have been killed in these bombings.

Will violence in the country increase now that we are officially "out?"  Americans don't seem to care.  75% of them are fucking stoked, bro that we're leaving.

So where is Obama on this awesomely historic day?  Where is he on the one issue that helped him secure the Democratic nomination for President and the issue that differentiated him most with his Republican opponent last year? Nearly silent. Nary a word on his website (as of 11:00 am PST/2:00 PM EST) about this momentous day.  WTF?  No prepared remarks, no press release?  No blog post or tweet?  Trying to avoid a Mission Accomplished egg-on-face moment, perhaps?  It seems odd to me that the President who ran so hard during election season against the Iraq war would miss an opportunity to message himself/his O-Admin with what is (whether just symbolic or legitimate) a major milestone in bringing the Iraq war to a close.