Last U.S. Combat Brigade Pulls Out Of Iraq

[FriendlyFire]

Last U.S. Combat Brigade Pulls Out Of Iraq

KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait — As their convoy reached the barbed wire at the border crossing out of Iraq on Wednesday, the soldiers whooped and cheered. Then they scrambled out of their stifling hot armored vehicles, unfurled an American flag and posed for group photos.

For these troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Barack Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.

Over the last 18 months, over 90,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq. By the end of this month, 50,000 troops will be serving in Iraq. As Iraqi Security Forces take responsibility for securing their country, our troops will move to an advise-and-assist role. And, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all of our troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year. Meanwhile, we will continue to build a strong partnership with the Iraqi people with an increased civilian commitment and diplomatic effort.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/18/us-combat-troops-iraq_n_687019.html

Big thanks to Gen Petraues for saving the US butt in Iraq.
Hope it hold together for another year.

Meanwhile, to the north, insurgents kept up a relentless campaign against the country's institutions and security forces, killing five Iraqi government employees in roadside bombings and other attacks Wednesday. Coming a day after a suicide bomber killed 61 army recruits in central Baghdad, the latest violence highlighted the shaky reality left by the departing U.S. combat force and five months of stalemate over forming Iraq's next government.

"I know that to my brothers in arms who fought and died, this day would probably mean a lot, to finally see us getting out of here," he said.

And to the unsung Iraqis forces, More then 8000 have died so far, unmentioned, unknown and it goes on.
Might not be everything but at least Iraq has been stablized.

 

[1stcitizen]

Big thanks to Gen Petraues for saving the US butt in Iraq.
Hope it hold together for another year.



And to the unsung Iraqis forces, More then 8000 have died so far, unmentioned, unknown and it goes on.
Might not be everything but at least Iraq has been stablized.

Execpt for you know, the 2 million refugees. I have already started a thread on this
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=375892

 

[Disgustipated]

Good job to Obama. Basically this is the main reason Obama was elected. And I'm glad he fulfilled his promise. This is the main reason why I voted for him. The Iraq war was a huge mistake, and there is little point continuing such a mistake. Sure he's wrecking the economy, but that's a good thing. That will usher in republicans back in 2010 and 2012. Hopefully they will learn their lesson this time. Americans don't like illegal wars.

 

[civver_764]

How is he wrecking the economy?

 

[Disgustipated]

It's OT for this thread. You all know my views on this.

 

[Ajidica]

Wow. This has to be a first. A CFC thread about modern politics didn't go OT.
Looks like I've found the 2nd horseman of the Apocalypse.

 

[MobBoss]

Good job to Obama. Basically this is the main reason Obama was elected. And I'm glad he fulfilled his promise.

What policy, exactly, did Obama enact to make this happen? Oh yeah, he simply continued the previous administrations policies after they were proven to be working.

I am interested in the next year though. I dont think we will really be 100% out of Iraq for a very long time, longer than just through next year.

But I might be wrong. Things may be even better there than I hope. I would be ok with that too.

 

[Bestbank Tiger]

Mission accomplished! Combat operations are over*


*50,000 troops may remain in Iraq until the end of 2011. Withdrawal is proceeding on Bush's timetable. We are 3 months past the 16-month timeframe promised by Candidate Obama.

 

[MobBoss]

Mission accomplished! Combat operations are over*


*50,000 troops may remain in Iraq until the end of 2011. Withdrawal is proceeding on Bush's timetable. We are 3 months past the 16-month timeframe promised by Candidate Obama.

Is Gitmo closed yet?

 

[Integral]

So, war's over? Did we win?

 

[Tani Coyote]

So, war's over? Did we win?

I'd say we win if:

A) The government stays in place, and

B) Somehow, Iraq manages to pump the hundreds of billions we spent on them back into our economy.

So I'd say... umm, we may be screwed on this one. Money in a hole.

Of course, there is hope! I am not a statistician. For all I know, Iraq is already pumping resources back into our economy - it does, at least, have a 120 billion dollar(PPP) economy, so who knows how much of that goes to our people via trade and American companies expanding there - and the democracy could very well be sustainable so long as the politicians remain less corrupt than dictatorial ones and we work with them to stave off any threats to it.

 

[FriendlyFire]

What policy, exactly, did Obama enact to make this happen? Oh yeah, he simply continued the previous administrations policies after they were proven to be working.

Oh how we have come from the days of attacking people as terrorist enablers for even calling for a "timetable". Enbolderning(sp) terrorist by even having a debate on the Iraq war.

We've come a long way and all it took was for sane men like Petraues and Gates to do a 180 degree change of stratergy.

Iam sure you know the old military saying
"Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is but an orphen"

 

[JohnRM]

The President did nothing more than capitalize on the success of a previous administration.

 

[Disgustipated]

What policy, exactly, did Obama enact to make this happen? Oh yeah, he simply continued the previous administrations policies after they were proven to be working.

I am interested in the next year though. I dont think we will really be 100% out of Iraq for a very long time, longer than just through next year.

But I might be wrong. Things may be even better there than I hope. I would be ok with that too.

I'm unclear what you mean. McCain's campaign pledge was to be non-committal on removing the troops. It really has nothing to do with Bush. It has to do with what McCain would have done if he was prez.

If you recall, Obama's main campaign strat was ending the war in Iraq. And he has done this. Obama didn't say we would withdraw when things were good, he set a definite time table.

And it's silly to say things are good there. There was a pretty serious bomb attack yesterday or the day before that killed dozens of people. The country might fall in the future. There is no way of telling. But either way, Obama fulfilled what he promised to do in 2008.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Is Gitmo closed yet?

At least the prisoners have Geneva Convention Rights now.
This in itself blunted the accusations of abuse and secrecy.

No withstandin the Bush administration pendent for screwing up everything they touched. At least Obama has been given the benefit of a clean slate as he goes about fixing everything.

After all the US were prepared to stomach Nixions escaltion and increased US casualties as he sought a way to exit Vietnam.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Mission accomplished!

 

[Tani Coyote]

The President did nothing more than capitalize on the success of a previous administration.

There's a term for this: politics as usual.

Observe how when the economy is bad, you get these reactions:

President's Party: It's the last <non-party> administration's fault!
Opposition Party: It's this administration's fault!

---

And everything flips when the economy is good...

It's all about claiming the good as your own, and rubbing the bad off on your foes.

 

[Patroklos]

I'm unclear what you mean. McCain's campaign pledge was to be non-committal on removing the troops. It really has nothing to do with Bush. It has to do with what McCain would have done if he was prez.

If you recall, Obama's main campaign strat was ending the war in Iraq. And he has done this. Obama didn't say we would withdraw when things were good, he set a definite time table.

And it's silly to say things are good there. There was a pretty serious bomb attack yesterday or the day before that killed dozens of people. The country might fall in the future. There is no way of telling. But either way, Obama fulfilled what he promised to do in 2008.

This manuever by you, if adopted wholesame by the left, has FAIL written all over it. Bush didn't set a timetable, he said he would withdraw troops at a rate the situation warranted which would be non commital. The situation allowed that to continue thus it ended around the time anyone with a grasp of subtraction could calculate, which is exactly why Obama picked the date he did.

Nothing in Iraq has changed since Bush. Like Gitmo, once Obama actually got his nose into the real situation he was forced to accept the course of action for the same reasons Bush did. Obama's PR guys put some feelers out about claiming victory in Iraq for themselves several months ago and were quickly smacked/laughed down. Most sane people realize that giving Obama credit for the Iraq victory would be like giving Truman credit for WWII, except worse considering Truman actually had involvement.

Let it go, and set your sights on Afghanistan.

 

[Theige]

Anyone attempting to claim "victory" in Iraq is a moron.

 

[sophie]

Good job Obama, good job.