Source. So, to be clear, by no means is this the end. Fifty thousand U.S. troops will remain in Iraq as assistance for the Iraqis and also to aid in the transition. This is still, however, a major stepping stone towards ending the war. :) What are OT's thoughts?KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait - As their convoy reached the barbed wire at the border crossing out of Iraq on Wednesday, the soldiers whooped and cheered. Then they scrambled out of their stifling hot armored vehicles, unfurled an American flag and posed for group photos. For these troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there. When 18-year-old Spc. Luke Dill first rolled into Iraq as part of the U.S. invasion, his Humvee was so vulnerable to bombs that the troops lined its floor with flak jackets. Now 25 and a staff sergeant after two tours of duty, he rode out of Iraq this week in a Stryker, an eight-wheeled behemoth encrusted with armor and add-ons to ward off grenades and other projectiles. "It's something I'm going to be proud of for the rest of my life - the fact that I came in on the initial push and now I'm leaving with the last of the combat units," he said. He remembered three straight days of mortar attacks outside the city of Najaf in 2003, so noisy that after the firing ended, the silence kept him awake at nights. He recalled the night skies over the northern city of Mosul being lit up by tracer bullets from almost every direction. Now, waiting for him back in Olympia, Wash., is the "Big Boy" Harley-Davidson he purchased from one of the motorcycle company's dealerships at U.S. bases in Iraq - a vivid illustration of how embedded the American presence has become since the invasion of March 20, 2003. That presence is far from over. Scatterings of combat troops still await departure, and some 50,000 will stay another year in what is designated as a noncombat role. They will carry weapons to defend themselves and accompany Iraqi troops on missions, but only if asked. Special forces will continue to help Iraqis hunt for terrorists.
Last U.S. combat brigade leaves Iraq
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[QUOTE="mattbbpl"][QUOTE="Wasdie"]I'm having trouble hearing you over the sound of Obama patting himself on the back.Do you think I've grown a little cynical lately? :P Lol :lol: Just going to leave this here.Good news but Afghanistan is getting worse :(
Snipes_2
Joking aside though, this is right in line with Obama's campaign promise. I think he deserves some credit for it. 
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