海角大神

Mission accomplished, really: US war in Iraq officially ends

Some 4,000 US forces will be exiting Iraq in the coming days. 'Iraq will be tested in days ahead,' warned Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, at an end-of-mission ceremony Thursday.

The Pentagon鈥檚 top officials flew into Iraq Thursday to mark the end of the American war here.聽

Eight years in coming, a ceremony Tuesday marked the conclusion of an American military mission that was alternately labeled a breeze, a mistake, a civil war, and a quagmire.

It has been a war whose 鈥渙utcome was never certain, especially in the war鈥檚 darkest days,鈥� said Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who flew to Baghdad to preside over the ceremony.

Today, 鈥渁fter a great deal of blood spilled by the Iraqis and the Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real,鈥� he added.

The uncertainty remains, US officials warn, but from the perspective of US troops here, 鈥淭his actually represents an end,鈥� said Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq. He spoke in the hours before what was dubbed the official 鈥淓nd of Mission鈥� ceremony here.

It was two months after the launch of the war, on May 1, 2003, that President Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath a banner that declared 鈥渕ission accomplished.鈥�

More than eight years later, from a stage set up steps away from the flight line of Baghdad International Airport where US troops are now boarding the last flights out of the country, General Martin Dempsey, the nation鈥檚 top military officer, reflected on the course of a war that has cost the lives of 4,485 US troops and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians. 聽

鈥淚raq has been a defining part of our professional and personal lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he road we have traveled was long and tough. Our journey was a lesson in courage, a test of our character, an affirmation of shared sacrifice, and a monument to sheer will.鈥�

At the height of the surge here, there were 177,000 US troops in the country and 505 American military bases. By 2010, the number of bases was down to 92.

Now there are some 4,000 US forces left in the country 鈥� forces that will alternately be flying and convoying home in the days to come.

For these final movements, 鈥渟ecurity will be incredible,鈥� says a US officer here. As the convoys have rolled towards Kuwait, there have been roadside bomb attacks south of Baghdad, says Buchanan.聽

None have resulted in injuries, according to the US military.聽

To ensure that remains the case, US officials have hired Iraqi tribesman, ostensibly 鈥渢o keep litter off the highways, but really what we鈥檙e doing is looking for anything that might cause a threat,鈥� Buchanan notes.

The security patrols continued as US troops drilled for the the end-of-mission ceremony, repeating their measured and precise steps in a march to the podium.

As Dempsey looked out on the assembled troops, he also spoke to the small handful of Iraqi dignitaries who attended.

鈥淓very day required us to balance conflict and compassion. Every step was a singular act of moral and physical courage,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e learned the power of relationships rooted in trust and respect,鈥� he added, 鈥淲e lived among you.鈥澛�

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was invited, say US officials, but did not attend the ceremony.

Mr. Panetta, for his part, tackled a question in the course of his remarks that US troops will continue to wrestle with long after the war has come to an end: Was the sacrifice worth the cost?聽

He assured those forces assembled that it was. 鈥淭hose lives were not lost in vain,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey gave birth to an independent, free, and sovereign Iraq.鈥�

Yet along with the assurances, Panetta issued a warning as well. 鈥淟et me be clear: Iraq will be tested in the days ahead, by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide,鈥� he said. And 鈥渂y the demands of democracy itself.鈥澛�

For US soldiers here, the ceremony marked the end of years of deployments and separation from family.聽

As ceremonial troops retired unit flags for the last time to the strains of, 鈥淥ff We Go, into the Wild Blue Yonder,鈥� one airman reflected on the flight that she soon would be taking, bound for home. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been waiting a long time for this," she said.