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The "Official" end of Iraq war is today.
Thoughts?
BAGHDAD — The Iraq war is set to officially end Thursday, with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta flying into Baghdad to attend a ceremony formally wrapping up the U.S. military’s 81 / 2-year mission in Iraq.
The ceremony effectively ends the war two weeks earlier than was necessary under the terms of the security agreement signed by the U.S. and Iraqi governments in 2008, which stipulated that the troops must be gone by Dec. 31.
But commanders decided there was no need to keep troops in Iraq through the Christmas holidays given that talks on maintaining a U.S. presence beyond the deadline had failed. The date of the final ceremony had been kept secret for weeks, so as not to give insurgents or militias an opportunity to stage attacks.
Panetta will be the guest of honor at the simple ceremony.
After speeches by the dignitaries, the flag of United States Force-Iraq will be folded away, and the U.S. military’s mission will be declared over, eight years, eight months and 25 days after it began.
The last commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, will then fly out of Iraq with the last few members of his staff. It will then only remain for the last few troops guarding the ceremony to make their way out of the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...LvO_story.html
BAGHDAD — The Iraq war is set to officially end Thursday, with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta flying into Baghdad to attend a ceremony formally wrapping up the U.S. military’s 81 / 2-year mission in Iraq.
The ceremony effectively ends the war two weeks earlier than was necessary under the terms of the security agreement signed by the U.S. and Iraqi governments in 2008, which stipulated that the troops must be gone by Dec. 31.
But commanders decided there was no need to keep troops in Iraq through the Christmas holidays given that talks on maintaining a U.S. presence beyond the deadline had failed. The date of the final ceremony had been kept secret for weeks, so as not to give insurgents or militias an opportunity to stage attacks.
Panetta will be the guest of honor at the simple ceremony.
After speeches by the dignitaries, the flag of United States Force-Iraq will be folded away, and the U.S. military’s mission will be declared over, eight years, eight months and 25 days after it began.
The last commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, will then fly out of Iraq with the last few members of his staff. It will then only remain for the last few troops guarding the ceremony to make their way out of the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...LvO_story.html
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