The end of last week signaled a significant moment in post-9/11 history as President Barack Obama announced the end of 2011 would bring with it the withdrawal of all United States military troops from Iraq.
After nearly nine years in Iraq, the human costs to the United States and its allies alone paint a vivid portrait of just how ferocious Operation Iraqi Freedom has been.
With over 4,700 dead and 32,000 wounded in the theater of combat, according to numbers compiled by the Pentagon, questions will rage throughout history of the validity of the cause in Iraq along with major questions over the cost in lives to the Iraqi people themselves.
While these concerns will linger in the collective psyche of Americans, much as the Vietnam War has, we cannot lose focus on the fact that an end in Iraq does not signal an end to American troops being in harm’s way.
On the same day as President Obama’s announcement, CNN and ORC International released figures from a recent poll of Americans gauging what issues ranked as most important in the minds of Americans.
Ranking fifth on the list at 23 percent was foreign policy.
The increased focus on the state of the economy, jobs, a growing deficit and recent battles over health care are understandable, but it does signal a decrease in our collective psyche of awareness over the fact that we are still engaged in open military action.
As resources and personnel are pulled out of Iraq, there are still lingering questions of what focus the American people still have, if any really, on hostilities in Afghanistan.
American troops are still patrolling through Afghanistan and in the line of fire each day. Pulling out from Iraq won’t change that.
Political pressure in 2008 was a strong motivation for campaign promises concerning the approach to Iraq and Afghanistan from all major candidates involved.
With this withdrawal from Iraq, the American people must take the opportunity to increase pressure on candidates vying for the 2012 election to have a clear plan for how to approach Afghanistan and increasing tension with Pakistan.
To not do so is to invite reckless policy from our national leaders which could continue to embroil us in conflicts overseas that may escalate into newfound hostilities  and would cost even more lives and resources.
With over 2,500 deaths and 14,000 wounded in Afghanistan among United States personnel and allies listed by the Pentagon, we cannot simply allow a situation that only becomes tenser with each passing day to slip into obscurity.
The end to hostilities in Iraq does not signal an end to deaths among American troops nor does it signal an end to hostilities in Afghanistan, to put it succinctly.
‘It does, however, allow for a new discussion on how to re-balance personnel and resources in order to ensure a responsible exit from Afghanistan as quickly as possible. It is a conversation that is entirely too quiet in our national dialogue.
If we are willing to bury this issue then we are willing to continue to bury American troops due simply to our lack of interest.
I would hope that we are better than that. Only as a nation of concerned citizens can we truly prove we are.