During military ceremonies today that folded the U.S. Forces-Iraq flag, U.S. military officially ended the war with Iraq, dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom when the war began almost nine years ago, toppling then-dictator Saddam Hussein.
When fighting started in March 2003 with its campaign of shock and awe, the United States was rescuing the people of Iraq from a tyrant supposedly armed with nuclear weapons. In general knowledge, it turned out that Saddam never had nuclear weapons, and if he did, they were gone by the time U.S. troops arrived or soon thereafter.
Still, America had toppled Iraq's leader and thrown its military into disarray. President George Bush and the U.S. were obligated to help establish a new government and put the Middle East country back together while trying to stave off the influence of surrounding nations that, mostly, had been kept at bay by Hussein. That proved to be waaaaay easier said than done as the U.S. and its partners gave their time, effort, money and the lives of military personnel fighting insurgents resistant to the U.S. presence, as well as sectarian violence that also had been mostly under control during Saddam's brutal reign.
Leon Panetta Announces Official End of War
Fox News/Thursday, December 15, 2011
Today, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the war was worth the blood and expense because ii brought democracy to Iraq. During nine years of conflict, some 4,500 Americans lost their lives, 32,000 were wounded, 100,000 Iraqis were killed, and the U.S. spent $800 billion.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/12/15/iraq-leon-panetta-announces-official-end-war/
By Sunday, all combat troops are expected to be out of Iraq, heading into Kuwait as troops return to the U.S. by, or soon thereafter the Christmas holiday.
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