The Iraq War is over!

As this thread is being typed up a monumentous occasion in our history is unfolding as the formal ceremony to formally end the Iraq Theatre is currently happening in Baghdad! All 35,000 that are currently there are coming home!

After nearly 8 3/4 yrs, Trillions wasted, 4,802 servicemen and servicewomen who are no longer with us it is over!

www.cbsnews.com...

www.bbc.co.uk...

www.defense.gov...

Wow, that is hard to believe.

Are we still alive?

Whatever the case I am very glad that our people get to come home.
Hoping they wont be needed for any more violence...

Really, I honestly don't believe it. Just got to wait and see.

reply to post by Grand Master


Don't believe it but it is happening and it is real!

reply to post by TheImmaculateD1


War is never over so soon.
War is brought home in the hearts and minds of the ones that participated.
It takes a least two generations to heal.

I have this suspicion that sectarian violence will continue to exist over there, maybe even grow.

It was happening when Saddam Hussein was in power, remember the Kurds?

Originally posted by Pokoia
reply to post by TheImmaculateD1

 

War is never over so soon.
War is brought home in the hearts and minds of the ones that participated.
It takes a least two generations to heal.

Here you see a good example of a starting healing process:

Awesome!!

Did we win?

reply to post by tjack


I'd personally declare this a draw!

So whose going to man the 50 bases we have built over there? This is some slight of hand of you ask me. Sure we will probably withdraw all supposed combat troops but we will have people stationed over their indefinitely to man all those bases like Korea count on it...

reply to post by TheImmaculateD1


I'm not so sure, when I look at what was gained (???) vs. what was spent (4000+ American lives, 4 trillion+ dollars, our economy), I feel I've been pretty well whupped up on.

Yes it's over,,,,and just what the hell good did it achieve? Not one bloody thing apart from the ruination of an entire generation of people in Iraq. ,We don't do body counts', so they're sticking with 100,000 Iraqi fatalities - but we'll never really know how many have died there...or how many wounded. Hell they won't even tell us how many UK/US soldiers have been wounded.

We fomented sectarian violence. (Remember the UK soldiers dressed as Arabs with bombs in the back of their vehicle), We made the streets of Iraq dangerous for every man, woman and child there (local or no). We destroyed a generation of Iraqi children's education. It remains unsafe for people in the streets.

Brookings - Iraq Index

We destroyed the countries sanitation with the first Gulf war and imposed sanctions relaxed under the 'oil for food' programme (wasn't that generous of us) which meant the sanitation system was never repaired. (That is a form of biological warfare). The sanctions, even when relaxed, caused the deaths of more than100,000 Iraqi children. (Was anyone aware that even PAPER was banned under the sanctions because it's 'double use' was potentially for Saddam's propaganda effort.)

There was no Iraqi connection to 9/11, No Iraqi connection with Al Quaeda. No weapons of mass destruction. No reason for this war/invasion.

The bringing democracy to the people of Iraq' excuse was laughable. You cannot bomb people to the ballot box...but they did it anyway. Democracy, as the Arab Spring has shown us, must come from within.

It is the shame of our generation. Bush, Blair and all of their cohorts should be facing war crime charges and long terms in prison.

One quote I recall (although not its author) from before the invasion and the start of the 'shocking and awful' campaign stated,

'The planned invasion of Iraq is nothing more than the premeditated murder of thousands of people in the name of saving them from their dictator.'

Was the author of that quote wrong?

Originally posted by TheImmaculateD1
All 35,000 that are currently there are coming home!

And as soon as they do, what's the bet the Iraqis seize their country back?

As soon as the US is out of there, it will be civil war to remove the puppets.

Fun Math:

Taking a SWAG and assuming 150,000 average number of soldiers per day in Iraq (I don't know the real number, somebody else can figure that out)

9 years X 365 days/year X 24 hrs/day X 150,000 troops = 11,826,000,000 man hours spent.

I wonder what awesomeness we could have done here at home with 4 trillion dollars and over 10 billion man hours.

reply to post by NuclearPaul


Reports say that those 35,000 are home now effectively ending the quagmire it became and the joke it was!

reply to post by TheImmaculateD1
For some, it may never be over.
*salute*

reply to post by TheImmaculateD1


What is "real"? How do you define "real"?

As another member commented, what about the 50+ bases the USA has built in Iraq, just because the main bulk of the troops are coming home, I am sure many more will be sent back there, and what about the biggest embassy in the world?

And what about special forces, drone strikes and covert ops?

I guess if its undeclared its not real war?

The Persian chapter has just begun my friend.......

reply to post by hawkiye


Well the Iraqi's did want some US military personnel top remain for training purposes - however - when the new Iraqi regime stated that US personnel would not be immune from Iraqi LAW - they decided against it.

Over time, the suggested number of American troops that would remain dwindled from between 30,000 and 50,000 to 20,000 to 10,000 and, finally, 3,000 to 5,000.

Then in October 2011, Iraq’s leaders announced that they had agreed on the need to keep American military trainers in the country in 2012, but declared that any remaining troops should not be granted immunity from Iraqi law, a point the United States had said would be a deal breaker.

NY Times

What those 50 bases were actually built for was the profits of Kellogg Brown & Root....nothing more than that.

Alright men go home have a shower a good feed a couplle of minutes with the wife and kids and ill see you in iran at 0600