Last U.S. troops leave Iraq as war ends

(AP) 

KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait - The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border to neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast U.S. ally.

The mission cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all is yet unanswered.

Capt. Mark Askew, a 28-year-old from Tampa, Florida who was among the last soldiers to leave, said the answer to that question will depend on what type of country and government Iraq ends up with years from now, whether they are democratic, respect human rights and are considered an American ally.

"It depends on what Iraq does after we leave," he said, speaking ahead of the exit. "I don't expect them to turn into South Korea or Japan overnight."

The war that began in a blaze of aerial bombardment meant to shock and awe the dictator Saddam Hussein and his loyalists ended quietly and with minimal fanfare.

U.S. officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high, but tried to paint a picture of victory — for both the troops and the Iraqi people now free from tyranny and on a path for democracy. But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes. And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats.

The soldiers left behind an Iraq free from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, inching toward democracy and vowing to be a good neighbor in the region.

Many Iraqis, however, are nervous and uncertain about the future. Their relief at the end of Saddam, who was hanged on the last day of 2006, was tempered by a long and vicious war that was launched to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction and nearly plunged the nation into full-scale sectarian civil war.

Some criticized the Americans for leaving behind a destroyed country with thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and without rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.

Obama welcomes home troops from Iraq
Video: U.S. marks official end to Iraq War
Video: Defense Sec. in Iraq for end of war ceremonies

Some Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, neither invited nor welcome in a proud country.

Others said that while grateful for U.S. help ousting Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls.

The low-key exit stood in sharp contrast to the high octane start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike in southern Baghdad where Saddam was believed to be hiding. U.S. and allied ground forces then stormed across the featureless Kuwaiti desert, accompanied by reporters, photographers and television crews embedded with the troops.

The final few thousand U.S. troops left Iraq in orderly caravans and tightly scheduled flights. They left at night in hopes it would be more secure and got out in time for at least some of the troops to join families at home for the Christmas holidays.

They completed the massive logistical challenge of shuttering hundreds of bases and combat outposts, and methodically moving more than 50,000 U.S. troops and their equipment out of Iraq over the last year — while still conducting training, security assistance and counterterrorism battles.

As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and less than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by President George W. Bush in 2007, when violence and raging sectarianism gripped the country. All U.S. troops were slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.

The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is a bit premature for the still maturing Iraqi security forces, who face continuing struggles to develop the logistics, air operations, surveillance and intelligence-sharing capabilities they will need in what has long been a difficult region.

Despite President Barack Obama's earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas, at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops will be able to help finalize the move out of Iraq, but could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.

Obama stopped short of calling the U.S. effort in Iraq a victory in an interview taped Thursday with ABC News' Barbara Walters.

"I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future," Obama said.

The Iraq Body Count website says more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion. The vast majority were civilians.

The U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region.

U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.

Obama met in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship. Ending the war was an early goal of the Obama administration, and Thursday's ceremony will allow the president to fulfill a crucial campaign promise during a politically opportune time. The 2012 presidential race is roiling and Republicans are in a ferocious battle to determine who will face off against Obama in the election.

[thecleaner46]

As for the men and women killed over there. The news didn't tell you that we killed most of our people our selfs. Also we killed many civilians over there too. These last 2 years we have had more killed by their own. Also they have came back stateside and started the killing here. If you don't believe me look for yourself. The stats are disturbing.

[thecleaner46]

The thing the news isn't telling you is even though they are bring soldiers home from IRAQ they are sending 3 battalions of soldiers to Afghanistan. The day after Christmas Ft Stewart GA is deploying 3 battalions. This doesn't include other bases in the states that are deploying as well at the same time. So we are taking from IRAQ and putting them in Afghanistan. The war inst over or should i say the gun trafficking war isn't over yet.

[takacrat]

The reason that Obama stayed to Bush's' time table is that now he "Obama" has over 250,000 active, desert trained and equipped ground troops to Pump into Iran after he "Obama" Bunked Bust Iran's' Nuke Research sites that Saudi, UAW, Dubai and a couple more of Oil Well Rich areas that will also overlook Israels' First Strike on Iran. Give or Take to one of the other, Iran within 9 to 18 months!!

[VictorAshesLoveChild]

ZORK ARGH, THE EARTHLING HAS DEDUCED OUR SECRETS!

SEND IN THE "Z" SQUAD IMMEDIATELY!

WOOT WOOT WOOT!

[venusvegasvada]

To the 4,500 US military troops you should add the 1,487 contractors that died their too.

[Anotheryahoo]

800 Billion dollars down the drain 100%. Bush & Cheney should be on trial for this one. What a ridiculous waste.

[OIF_to_USC]

It took 10 years of fighting a war to spend that $800 billion. At least there is some hope and promise for the expenditure. It took Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama one Congressional vote to lose $890 billion in a failed stimulus give-a-way. There is nothing to show for that.

[VictorAshesLoveChild]

$800 billion?

Try two trillion direct, a total of six trillion.

Thanks, conservatives.

[morriswise]

The smartest and most capable are the first to enlist in our armed services, their patriotism is beyond belief. An investigation should be made about the facts that almost half become unemployable upon discharge. Most vets are only offered minimum wage jobs; employers are overlooking the abilities of our smartest and most capable men. Some say vets joined because they could not hold a job, which would be calling them soldiers of fortune instead of the true patriots that they truly are.

[OIF_to_USC]

Thanks for the kind words morriswise. A lot of us were already working good jobs when the war kicked off -- and now they are gone. I'm afraid that jobs are just plain hard to come by through the fault of no one group. The truth is that we were going from a manufacturing economy and headed into something else early on while maintaining the illusion of prosperity. We had a chance after the Reagan Recovery, but squandered it and created a hollow economy that was bound to fall apart in time. It is going to take the entire nation to rediscover itself and find our place in the world and the market. I don't doubt we can -- if we pull together. If we don't go back to the old days of tax, spend and indebtedness, well that will be a good thing too.

[OIF_to_USC]

No doubt Saddam and his House of Horrors would have been a renewed threat to the region 10-12 years after the 91 Persian Gulf War, probably sooner. He was already firing on U.S. and Coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones leading up to the Iraq War and leading UN arms inspectors on a humiliating foxhunt around Iraq while convincing the world that he was on the verge of a host of new WMDs. In the end, it backfired on him and he met his fate at the end of a rope--good riddance. Granted, the Iraq War was mismanaged in the beginning -- until about 2005 -- and foreign al-Qaeda operatives followed us in early on. Happily, it was the Iraqis, including the Sunni minority that stood up to them after al-Qaeda was recognized for the fundamentalist thugs that they were. Likewise, the Shiite majority stood up to the Iranian backed militias like the Mahdi Army and forced them to stand down. Meanwhile, the liberals here at home were hoping like hell for a sectarian civil war to prove their point. Glad to have disappointed them. Meanwhile, the Iraqis will do just fine. Yes, it's tragic that people die in war, but that's what happens in war.

[andrewjsacks]

It never should have started.

OBAMA 2012!

[OIF_to_USC]

Hmmm, Obama what...in 2012

[tvwatcher5345]

more should have been done to keep our troops from ever having gone into iraq in the first place (iraq had nothing to do with 9/11). this is a shame on us. We need to care for and honor the ones comming home

[Freepress1111]

Several thanks are in order. First, thanks to our military men and women who did their jobs during the war in Iraq as American soldiers in spite of the fact that the commander in chief that ordered the invasion and sent them there did so hoping that evidence would be found justifying the invasion, which never was found. Thanks to president Obama for ending the war as he said he would. For those who don't believe this, the tens of thousands of US troops who have left Iraq in the last few months do believe it. Thanks most to the Internet, which has not only brought the world's people closer together socially than ever before, but also exposed one of the greatest dangers to freedom, demonstrated beautifully in comments sections like this one, which is people on both sides willing to believe, and act on, whatever they want to believe, manipulating and distorting facts to conform to their opinions.