By Zhao Yi

To Americans, March 20, 2003 is absolutely an unforgettable day because it witnessed the beginning of the so-called "Operation Decapitation," a code name given by the United States military to launch the Iraq War that soon overthrew the decades-long rule by Saddam Hussein.

However, the six-year-old bloody war also inflicted on the United States heavy losses, including more than 40,000 casualties and over 600 billion US dollars. The unexpected price has apparently plunged the sole superpower in the world into unprecedented international isolation and a terrible plight.

It was fortunate when US President Barack Obama moved to fulfill the defining promise of his campaign six years later, saying all US combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August 2010. It seems that Obama, by making the long-expected announcement, is trying to annotate US "smart power", a new concept cherished by the Obama administration to practice with in the coming four years.

The unfortunate Iraq War, which proved to be groundless and unwarranted, is absolutely an evil consequence from traditional thinking of US decision-makers who have long insisted on promoting US-style democracy to other countries.

George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor who masterminded the Iraq War, once vowed publicly time and again to set Iraq as an example of democracy in the Middle East.

For now, Obama's announcement of the schedule of military withdrawal to end the Iraq War should be a demonstration of the pressure that has at last been effectively felt by the host of the White House.

However, to the disappointment of many people, the two-month-old Obama administration is, willingly or unwillingly, following the track of the foreign policy practiced by the Bush administration.

One week after taking-office, Obama claimed to the Islamic world that "the Americans are not your enemy." But in its practice, the Obama administration continued to label the Palestinian Islamic Movement (Hamas) and the Hezbollah of Lebanon, both very much influential in the Middle East region, as terrorist organizations.

Washington was also puzzled by Britain's decision to re-establish contact with the political wing of Hezbollah, and wanted London to explain "the difference between the political, social and military wings of Hezbollah because we don't see the difference between the integrated leadership that they see," the New York Times quoted an unidentified senior government official as reporting last week.

On the other hand, in order to remain consistent with Bush's policy on Iran, Obama said in a message to Congress last week that the United States will continue its sanctions against the country as "the actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat" to US national security and economy.

On the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the Obama administration has called for the resumption of the six-party talks and sought to have dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, it goes on stinging Pyongyang by holding an annual joint military drill with South Korea, which is joining hands with Japan to stop the planned satellite launch by the DPRK.

The Obama administration is also reluctant to give up the plan to deploy a missile defense shield in East Europe which the Bush administration had been striving for. "The missile defense that we've talked about deploying is directed not toward Russia but Iran," Obama told reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the White House early this month.

What is more, the Obama administration is continuing Bush's effort by having military surge in Afghanistan, vowing to win the major anti-terrorism war sponsored by the Bush administration.

"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit." Looking back on what the Obama administration has done in the past two months, it might be difficult to say that Bush's successor has the courage to shift from the foreign policies of his predecessor.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)