Last US combat troops leave Iraq
DirtySanchez
Regular
The last American combat troops left Iraq today, seven-and-a-half years after the US-led invasion, and two weeks ahead of President Barack Obama's 31 August deadline for withdrawal from the country.
The final troops to leave, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, rolled in convoy across the border and into Kuwait this morning, officially ending combat operations, which began in March 2003.
Former president George Bush launched the invasion, saying: "This will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory."
The war saw the toppling of Saddam Hussein, but became increasingly unpopular against a backdrop of heavy civilian and troop casualties, arguments over the legality of the conflict and a growing sectarian battle in Iraq.
NBC News video this morning showed the last Stryker armoured vehicles rolling through the border gate into Kuwait, officially ending US combat presence in Iraq.
PJ Crowley, a spokesman for the US state department, said that despite the departure being "an historic moment", the US mission in Iraq continued.
"We are ending the war ... but we are not ending our work in Iraq," he said. "We have a long-term commitment to Iraq."
NBC News said that the last soldiers to reach Kuwait were proud of the collective effort in Iraq.
"We are done with operations," said Lieutenant Steven DeWitt of San José, California, as his vehicle reached the Khabari crossing on the border.
"This was a professional soldier's job," he said, describing "a war that has defined this generation of military men and women".
"And today it's over," he added.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/19/iraq-last-combat-troops-leave
I give them 5 years before the Taliban rules over Iraq.
Comments
Well we killed far more insurgents than they killed of us. We overthrew there goverment and installed a democracy. of Course it was all for Jewish interests but still things were accomplished weather they were good or bad. Aslo
I made one promise that I'd be "OK with Obama as president, being black and all, as long as he scaled down troop levels in half by the time he was out." He did that but scaled down 2/3 which is more than what I could have asked for. Because of that I won't bitch about him as president unless Iran kicks off and or Afghanistan keeps scaling up instead of down. We went to topple governments and show our cock off to the world. We succeeded. It's the fucking politicians that want to bullshit a war up and "farm" a broken country for nefarious purposes.
It's a goddamn shame we've lost roughly 5,000 troops, but at the same time we lost so few for what we've accomplished which history will acknowledge if we have another "Big War".
Future invaders, Sir Rolf states that thou should attempt indoctrination of thine new subjects before allowing them to rule over themselves.
Iraq shouldn't have happend, it's hard to find people who argue that fact, troops included. Instead of dealing full-force in Afghanistan, we piddled away most of our combat troops to Iraq instead of dealing with Afghanistan. Shit even when I was in Afghanistan it was fighting over tiny provinces, on mountain faces, with jack shit for support or supplies as most was going to Iraq. We attacked another theatre when we didn't even have one locked down. Sound like Germany to anyone? We're just lucky it was sand people with piss poor organization rather than a real standing army.
And Iran, shit. I've been fearing that for a couple of years now. Hopefully that doesn't go down within 12 months, so I don't have to deal with it first hand. I've served my time, I'll be damned if I'm going to fight on another unjustified front.
Still have to continue to train their troops too. Which I don't understand. You use combat troops to train them. That's what we did. So saying no combat troops there is BS.
Also, they should take all the Blackwater shits, and Mercs, and line them up against a wall drive by with an M240 on kill mode and whoever lives gets to go home. Who doesn't, fuck 'em, let 'em rot.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/24/number-troops-iraq-figure-mandated-obama-lowest-invasion
Yeah but if they said that people wouldnt feel like we had a "victory". It's all politics man.
:eek::eek::eek::eek: oh noes your not a patriot
So Fox "news" wants us to continue occupation for another 30 years? To do what? Make the current administration look bad? It's silly. Soldiers lives should not be a fucking agenda. That's where Nixon, and Bush hung themselves as the demons of the last 100 years. Both wanted to be the next FDR, but they went foward counterfeiting a bullshit war, on their own political behalf.
I saw a number of people I got to know pretty well die. Most of those guys in Iraq, not in the theatre I served in. Although I did loose Company and two squad mates in the shit hole.
It's all a political agenda to set up base of operations around Iran I believe. And to eliminate mobile weapons around Iran(aka Iraq/Afghanistan which we supplied).
If we really wanted to clean the mess. We would have dropped rangers, recon, and airborne(my division) units in a circumference and pushed as many of them as possible to the middle- And eradicated them that way.
I don't think we are trying to do so. We keep allowing them escape routes. I was there, in my last tour I was sitting in on large scale attack plans. We just make choke points pointing towards the northwest/southeast and let them flee. It's silly. Sitting in on that shit is when I gave up on this crap. I fought for my fellow soldiers, but I quit fighting this silly war.
Your absolutely right. America has just created a fucked up situation in a country we had no buissness being in. We have to stop trying to police the world. Our soldiers and the innocents who died in Iraq over a lie aren't just numbers too be toyed with. All in all a very sad situation.