A man inspects the aftermath of a car bomb exploded on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012 near the town of Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012.
Early on the morning of Dec. 18, 2011, after nine years, 4,487 troops killed, more than 32,000 wounded and some $800 billion spent, the last 400 American troops in Iraq rolled into Kuwait, and literally shut the gate behind them. 2012 was the first year since 2003 without any American troops in Iraq, and the country, which for most of the decade dominated the headlines, was largely forgotten. Aside from the occasional car bomb, dutifully reported by the wire services, there was little Western media coverage given to the serious political maneuverings in the country. In late 2012, rivals to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki began campaigning for term limits to try and block him from seeking a third term. Iraq’s parliament wallowed in a power-sharing stalemate between the country’s Shi’ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish parties, stalling much-needed economic development. And then there was the ongoing saga of the country’s Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, who fled Iraq in Dec. 2011 after the government accused him of playing a role in terrorist attacks. He was tried in absentia, convicted and sentenced to death — a punishment not likely to be carried out, as by year’s end al-Hashemi was living in exile in Turkey