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Deadly Iraq war ends with exit of last U.S. troops
CNN ^ | Sun December 18, 2011 | Moni Basu

Posted on 12/17/2011 9:58:41 PM PST by MinorityRepublican

A U.S. soldier atop an armored vehicle gives a thumbs-up upon reaching the checkpoint on the Iraq-Kuwait border.

(CNN) -- Early Sunday, as the sun ascended to the winter sky, the very last American convoy made its way down the main highway that connects Iraq and Kuwait.

The military called it its final "tactical road march." A series of 110 heavily armored, hulking trucks and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles carrying about 500 soldiers streamed slowly but steadily out of the combat zone.

A few minutes before 8 a.m., the metal gate behind the last MRAP closed. With it came to an end a deadly and divisive war that lasted almost nine years, its enormous cost calculated in blood and billions.

Some rushed to touch the gate, forever a symbol now of an emotional, landmark day. Some cheered with the Army's ultimate expression of affirmation: "Hooah!"

Once, when hundreds of thousands of Americans were in Iraq, the main highway was better known as Main Supply Route Tampa and soldiers trekked north towards Baghdad and beyond, never knowing what danger lurked on their path.

On this monumental day, the Texas-based 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division's main concern was how to avoid a traffic jam on their final journey in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Gaumer, 37, was on this road in August 2003. It was his first time at war. He was frightened.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News
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To: Bryanw92

61 posted on 12/18/2011 8:49:07 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: MinorityRepublican

Watch Iran fill the vacuum!


62 posted on 12/18/2011 8:56:43 AM PST by upcountryhorseman (An old fashioned conservative)
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To: A.Hun

Great picture! Thanks.


63 posted on 12/18/2011 9:37:20 AM PST by Joya (http://www.angelsonassignment.org/why_aoa.html)
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To: DB

>> Deadly war, who knew...

No kidding. Leftwing noise covering for the jackass that initiated and owns the degradation.


64 posted on 12/18/2011 9:37:36 AM PST by Gene Eric (Save a pretzel for the gas jets.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

“We won”

WPTG (Whistling Past The Graveyard)

Next time, the government needs to pull their collective heads out. Their TN heads...

Start with ummm, maybe some B61’s and work up from there.


65 posted on 12/18/2011 10:22:10 AM PST by bigheadfred
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To: americanophile; caww; onyx
To my mind the war was won in 2007 and it was won.Our presence there since then has been to maintain our victory and to give Iraq time to stand up on its own. Whether the policy was right or wrong will be debated for all time, but our soldiers deserve our respect and gratitude for a job hard-fought and well done. It's okay to say 'mission accomplished;' it's okay to say 'victory;' our troops did what was asked of them. They defeated Saddam and placed Iraq in the hands of its own people - democratically elected. That is victory

Thank you, americanophile, for saying what so very many of us are thinking.

The Bush/Petraeus surge gave us VICTORY. Our troops WON the war.

And I thank God for every single one of them.

66 posted on 12/18/2011 11:40:54 AM PST by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star winner!)
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To: Future Snake Eater

Glad yer safe troop......Stay safe Sir and have a Merry Christmas where ever you are !

Squantos...


67 posted on 12/18/2011 11:42:28 AM PST by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: ohioWfan

Amen.


68 posted on 12/18/2011 11:50:17 AM PST by EternalVigilance (With God Obama can't hurt us. Without God, George Washington couldn't save us.)
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To: MinorityRepublican
Forecast for the near future. Most of Iraq will become a chaotic client state of Iran, with lots of Sunni and Shia killing of each other. The Kurds will try to maintain an independent zone in the North and then Turkey, Iran and the Iraqi central government will move to destroy the fledgling Kurdistan.
69 posted on 12/18/2011 12:03:55 PM PST by Truth29
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To: ohioWfan

If the troops won the war, the politicians lost the peace.


70 posted on 12/18/2011 12:28:08 PM PST by Stolly
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To: WilliamHouston

Well as a response to 911 it served its purpose well. America has be about the only country free of Islamic terrorism in the world for years.


71 posted on 12/18/2011 12:43:20 PM PST by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: A.Hun
That is a beautiful and TRUE post, A. Hun.

It's obvious that there are freepers who don't get it, but it is clear that you do.

This war a waste?? Only if your head has been buried in the sand, or if you have an anti-national security (leftist?) agenda.

The thing that peeves me the most about this Bush Victory, is that Obama is taking credit for it.

Obama who fought tooth and nail to harm our troops, to take away their supplies, to demonize them...

Obama, who campaigned against the very war that he is taking full credit for, who used and abused the very man who is responsible for this victory....

Of all the things that I hate about Barack Obama, this is near the top of the heap.

He is a despicable human being. Despicable.

72 posted on 12/18/2011 12:50:40 PM PST by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star winner!)
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To: Stolly

The leftist politicians (including Ron Paul) did their best to lost the war as well.


73 posted on 12/18/2011 12:51:48 PM PST by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star winner!)
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To: caww

Of course our leader does not say we are at war with Islam: he is on THEIR side. His election is an almost unbelievable win for the enemy that has already cost America TRILLIONS and may very well end up costing us our freedom.


74 posted on 12/18/2011 12:53:41 PM PST by Nateman (If liberals are not screaming you are doing it wrong!)
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To: American in Israel

Did the Fort Hood shootings not get reported in Israel ?


75 posted on 12/18/2011 1:03:35 PM PST by Stolly
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To: ohioWfan

Thanks for the kind words ohio, and yes, Obama trying to take credit for the outcome in Iraq is frustrating to me too.

However, I think it just shows how shallow he is, and it is noticed by a great many Americans. That has value in it also. Everyone knows he got elected in part because of his bashing Bush and the war, and our victory there is a defeat for him. It must really chap him to have to congratulate our troops for an action he despised.

BTW, my experience of people that proclaim Iraq was a waste is that they are liberals/democrats that hate America, or Paultards that hate everyone but America! Either way, I couldn’t care less...

It’s a pleasure to chat with you again. Merry Christmas to you, our troops coming home, and those that are still in harms way!!


76 posted on 12/18/2011 1:15:44 PM PST by A.Hun (Common sense is no longer common.)
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To: MinorityRepublican
This war will go down as a failure. One trillion dollars spent,4400 dead, 30,000 + wounded for what?? We basically removed a Sunni dictator and turned the country over to Shia Islam . We didn't get any oil in return for our efforts and the people we handed the country over to hate us. Between Bush and Obama our Middle East Foreign Policy has been a disaster. We have destabilized the whole region and turned power over to Iran, Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda.
The only good thing I can say about Bush is he was a better choice than Gore or Kerry. He was not a conservative president. He was a open borders president that pushed free trade and destroyed our industrial base and raised our debt with a prescription drug plan and no child left behind.
77 posted on 12/18/2011 1:18:57 PM PST by pterional
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To: Eleutheria5
>"The MSM says so, so it is."

Hey we let them pick our representatives. The ENEMEDIA in effect controls the govt.

78 posted on 12/18/2011 1:23:09 PM PST by rawcatslyentist (It is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; ~Vattel's Law of Nations)
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To: American in Israel
>"America has be about the only country free of Islamic terrorism in the world for years."

No, they just don't report it.

Where ever there is mudslime, there will be MOHAMICIDE.

79 posted on 12/18/2011 1:43:02 PM PST by rawcatslyentist (It is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; ~Vattel's Law of Nations)
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To: A.Hun
BTW, my experience of people that proclaim Iraq was a waste is that they are liberals/democrats that hate America, or Paultards that hate everyone but America! Either way, I couldn’t care less...

I still have trouble with those who are here on a conservative website who declare our troops' mission, which our troops themselves knew was valid, a 'waste.' I need to take your lead and not care....

It’s a pleasure to chat with you again. Merry Christmas to you, our troops coming home, and those that are still in harms way!!

Amen! God bless our troops! There many still in harm's way, and I pray for their protection against an evil enemy.

80 posted on 12/18/2011 1:50:41 PM PST by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star winner!)
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