Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war

[stevedeshazer]

I always wanted to be the one who posted this.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/18/us-iraq-withdrawal-idUSTRE7BH03320111218

(Reuters) - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country still grappling with political uncertainty.

The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Baghdad to oust dictator Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing insurgents, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in the Arab region.

The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armored vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert through the night along an empty highway and across the Kuwaiti border.

Honking their horns, the last batch of around 25 American military trucks and tractor trailers carrying Bradley fighting vehicles crossed the border early on Sunday, their crews waving at fellow troops along the route.

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More @ link.

[tblue]

1. Never never ever should have started it.

I am glad we can finally bring our people home. I just hope the killing stops so the displaced can return and the people can live in peace.

I fear that the contractors and multinationals are going to keep ripping off the Iraqi people and take (keep) control of their resources. Please, God, don't let them.

[Dewey Finn]

2. Thank you for posting this.

I hope for the Iraqis that there is something somewhere to celebrate in the wake of our lost decade of disastrous, catastrophic "nation-building".

They deserved better than Saddam Hussein, and they deserved better than us.

[Zhade]

3. The reality is that it privatizes, not ends, the war.

Let's be clear -- Iraq is still occupied.

[JDPriestly]

4. K&R

We shall see how true this report really is. I sincerely hope that it is not just hype.

Now the question is, how many independent contractors do we and the oil companies have there and just what are their functions?

[ixion]

5. 2 points:

1) It was never a 'war', it was an illegal invasion followed by a hostile occupation.

2) It is NOT over, just re-branded and privatized.

[stevedeshazer]

9. Without question.

But I'm still celebrating.

[Rex]

6. GOOD!

Now maybe some of them (that will no doubt ETS from the military), can SUE the SHIT out of a few selected people for starting a war over lies and false information. The invasion of Iraq was an act of fraud and I hope the criminal parties involved one day end up in prison.

[underpants]

7. PIC from the NY Times

Last Convoy of American Troops Leaves Iraq, Marking an End to the War

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/world/middleeast/last-convoy-of-american-troops-leaves-iraq.html?_r=1&hp