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  • Blog

US marks formal end of Iraq war with small ceremony

Picture
Nearly nine years after American troops stormed across the Iraq border in a
blaze of shock and awe, U.S. officials quietly ended the bloody and bitterly
divisive conflict here Thursday, but the debate over whether it was worth the
cost in money and lives is yet unanswered.While many of the speeches painted a
picture of victory — for both the troops and the Iraqi people now set on a path
for democracy — the gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their
new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes. And will Iraq be able
to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and
still steeped in insurgent threats.The US Forces Iraq colors are lowered before
being encased in a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec., 15, 2011. The
  ceremonies mark the official end of the US military mission in Iraq.Stark
  reminders of the fragile and often violent nature of the situation in Iraq
  engulfed the 45-minute ceremony. It was tucked into fortified corner of the
  airport, ringed with concrete blast walls. And on the chairs  
  were tags that listed not only the name of the VIP assigned to the
  seat, but the bunker they should move to in case of an attack.The speeches
  touched on the success of the mission as well as its losses: Nearly 4,500
  Americans and 100,000 Iraqis killed. Another 32,000 American and tens of
  thousands Iraqis wounded. And $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury.On the other
  side of the ledger, an Iraq free from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, inching
  forward toward democracy and vowing to be a good neighbor in the region.”To be
  sure the cost was high — in blood and treasure of the United States and also
  the Iraqi people,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the roughly 200 troops
  and others in attendance. “Those lives have not been lost in vain -- they gave
  birth to an independent, free and sovereign Iraq.”Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top
  U.S. commander in Iraq, said the Iraqi people now have an unprecedented
  opportunity to live in a relatively peaceful environment, but he also
  acknowledged it will be a challenging time. And he urged Iraqi leaders to make
  good choices based on what is best for their people.“Violence and prosperity
  cannot co-exist,” said Austin, who eight years, eight months and 26 days ago
  gave the order for U.S. troops to storm across the border into Iraq. And on
  Thursday he gave the order to retire the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq.The flag was
  then rolled up, covered by a camouflage colored sheath and will be brought back
  to the U.S.Speaking to the troops in the audience, Panetta lauded their service
  and their bravery, adding, “You will leave with great pride — lasting pride --
secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to begin a new
chapter in history.”Many Iraqis, however, are uncertain of how that chapter will
unfold. Their relief at the end of Saddam, who was hanged on the last day of
2006, was tempered by a long and vicious war that was launched to find
  non-existent weapons of mass destruction and nearly plunged the nation into
  full-scale sectarian civil war.“With this withdrawal, the Americans are leaving
  behind a destroyed country,” said Mariam Khazim, a Shiite whose father was
  killed when a mortar shell struck his home in Sadr City. “The Americans did not
  leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands
  of widows and orphans. The Americans did not leave a free people and country
  behind them, in fact they left a ruined country and a divided
nation.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/no-mission-accomplished-banners-us-marks-formal-end-of-divisive-iraq-war-with-small-ceremony/2011/12/15/gIQA3W8rwO_story.html

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