U.S. forces end Iraq operation

American troops lowered the flag of command that flew over Baghdad Thursday morning, rolled it, and placed it in a green and gray case, officially ending the controversial United States military mission in Iraq after nearly nine years.
The understated ceremony under the bright Iraqi sun was the very opposite of the nighttime shock and awe bombardment of Baghdad that began the war against Saddam Hussein in March 2003.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew into Baghdad Thursday morning for the ceremony, where he vowed: "We do not forget the lessons of war.
"Nor will we ever forget the sacrifices of the more than one million men and women of the United States armed forces who served in Iraq, and the sacrifices of their families," he said.
Panetta paid tribute to the nearly 4,500 Americans who were killed and more than 30,000 who were wounded in Iraq, where an estimated one million Americans troops have served in the past eight-and-a-half years.
Iraq Body Count, an independent public database, calculates more than 150,000 Iraqis died between March 2003 and October 2010, the vast majority of them civilians.
Panetta said the United States was "deeply indebted" to all Americans in uniform, and hailed the advances made in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by the invasion.
And he said the day "is not about the United States. Rather, today is about Iraq. This is a time for Iraq to look forward."
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained in very practical terms what the end of the U.S. mission meant.
Departing from his prepared text, he said he had been able to fly into Iraq on this occasion simply because he wanted to.
"The next time I come here, I'm going to have to be invited by the Iraqi government, and I kind of like that," Dempsey said, before concluding his speech with thanks and a blessing in Arabic.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was not present, having returned to the country from the United States as the ceremony began. President Jalal Talabani was expected to be there but did not attend.
The ceremony marked the official end of the mission that began with the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein.
His regime fell in a matter of weeks, and he was captured in December 2003 after months in hiding, then executed in 2006 after a trial by Iraq's new authorities.
All U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by the end of this month after Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on terms under which they could remain.
There were about 5,500 American troops in Iraq as of Tuesday, the most recent day American officials in Iraq gave CNN figures.
A senior defense official traveling with Panetta said that some troops -- perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 -- will remain in Kuwait for a certain period of time, but said the details have not been worked out with the Kuwaitis.
Obama on Wednesday welcomed home returning troops from Iraq, hailing their service to help a people they didn't know as an example of what makes America great.
"As your commander in chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I'm proud to finally say these two words, and I know your families agree -- welcome home. Welcome home," Obama told cheering troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Obama used his Ft. Bragg speech to mark the fulfillment of a campaign pledge he made in 2008 to end the war.
The president spoke of the heavy sacrifice and hard work offered by U.S. service members in the Iraq mission.
"Because of you -- because you sacrificed so much for a people that you had never met, Iraqis have a chance to forge their own destiny," Obama said. "That's part of what makes us special as Americans. Unlike the empires of old, we did so not for territory or for resources. We do it because it's right.
"There can be no fuller expression of America's support for self-determination than our leaving Iraq to its people. That says something about who we are."

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[Slith01]

"This war is not as in the past. Whoever occupies a territory also imposes on it his own social system. Everyone imposes his social system as far as his army goes. There's no other way" Stalin Said This, America Tried To Practice It and Failed. They Have To Stay

[iraqizz]

the american goverment are nothing but terrorist but the american people are abit better

[flyingfortress911]

So this is what America achieved in Iraq,they went in there to find WMD that they didn't find.they killed their leader,abused and killed millions,stole their oil,destroyed their army,airforce and all the airports.ruined their gas,electricity and water systems and not to mention the billions of dollars of American tax payer's money and thousands of American families destroyed...bravo

[dAda313]

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i kinda miss the deserved shoe that is thrown towards US speakers :(

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