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Subscribe to RSSA ceremony held in Baghdad marked the official end of the nearly 9-year military campaign in Iraq, and now the 4,000 remaining troops in the country are heading home for the holidays. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
Updated at 6:10 p.m. ET
President Barack 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.
Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."
The Iraq Body Count website says more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion. The vast majority were civilians.
Updated at 10:58 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD -- U.S. forces formally ended their nine-year war in Iraq with a low-key flag ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday.
"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the ceremony at Baghdad's still heavily fortified airport.
Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad and descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.
U.S. soldiers lowered the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief outdoor ceremony, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were invited to the ceremony but did not attend.
In addition to the dead, the war left 32,000 Americans wounded and cost the U.S. more than $800 billion.
The remaining 4,000 American troops will leave by the end of the year.
Bombings are still common. Experts are also concerned about the Iraqi security force's ability to defend the nation against foreign threats.
However, Panetta said veterans of the conflict can be "secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to cast tyranny aside."
Some Iraqi citizens offered a more pessimistic assessment. "The Americans are leaving behind them a destroyed country," said Mariam Khazim of Sadr City. "The Americans did not leave modern schools or big factories behind them. Instead, they left thousands of widows and orphans."
Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke during the ceremony.
Updated at 5:46 a.m. ET: Austin says Iraqis now have "unprecedented opportunities."
Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, discusses the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq with TODAY's Matt Lauer. McCain says we risk losing everything we gained in the war-torn country by not leaving a residual force behind, apart from about 200 military advisers.
Updated at 5:42 a.m ET: "Since 2003, we have helped the Iraqi security forces grow from zero to 650,000-strong," Austin says.
Updated at 5:40 a.m. ET: Austin recalls how he was present when American forces secured the airfield where the ceremony is being held. "After 21 days of tough fighting, we ended Saddam Hussein's reign of terror," he adds.
Updated at 5:37 a.m. ET: Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, points out that the next time he visits Baghdad it will have to be at the invitation of the Iraqi government. "I kinda like that," he adds.
Updated at 5:32 a.m. ET: "This is not the end, this is the beginning," Panetta says. "May God bless Iraq, its people and its future."
NBC News
U.S. troops take part in the end of mission ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday.
Updated at 5:29 a.m. ET: "Let me be clear, Iraq will be tested in the days ahead -- by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide," Panetta says. "Challenges remain but the United States will be there to stand with the Iraqi people. We are not about to turn our backs on all that has been sacrificed and accomplished."
Updated at 5:26 a.m. ET: "Your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people begin a new chapter in history, free from tyranny," Panetta says. "This outcome was never certain, particularly during the war's darkest days."
Updated at 5:23 a.m. ET: Panetta highlights the "heartbreak" of military families who watched their loved ones go off to war.
Updated at 5:18 a.m. ET: "It is a profound honor to be here in Baghdad," Panetta says at ceremony."No words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass."
Saddam's Iraq is gone, but in its place is a state with close ties to one of America's biggest and most unpredictable enemies: Iran. NBC's Richard Engel has been covering the war from the start, and went back for this historic week to take a closer look at the Iran connection.
Updated at 5:16 a.m. ET: "We look forward to an Iraq that is sovereign, secure and self-reliant," US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey says.
Published at 4:45 a.m. ET: After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials prepared Thursday to formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.
Panetta stepped off his military plane in Baghdad Thursday as the leader of America's war in Iraq, but will leave as one of many top U.S. and global officials who hope to work with the struggling nation as it tries to find its new place in the Middle East and the broader world.
He and several other U.S. diplomatic, military and defense leaders will participate in a highly symbolic ceremony during which the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq will officially be retired, or "cased," according to Army tradition.
During several stops in Afghanistan this week, Panetta made it clear that the U.S. can be proud of its accomplishments in Iraq, and that the cost of the bitterly divisive war was worth it.
After nearly nine years and 4,500 American lives lost, President Obama and the first lady officially marked the end of the Iraq war Wednesday. NBC's Kristen Welker has more.
"We spilled a lot of blood there," Panetta said. "But all of that has not been in vain. It's been to achieve a mission making that country sovereign and independent and able to govern and secure itself."
That, he said, is "a tribute to everybody — everybody who fought in that war, everybody who spilled blood in that war, everybody who was dedicated to making sure we could achieve that mission."
Panetta has echoed President Barack Obama's promise that 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.
As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and about 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 are slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.
Read more about the Iraq withdrawal
- Post-US Iraq: Welcome to Shia-stan
- Iraqis unable to defend borders as US exits
- Iraqi voices: Patchwork electrical grid a symbol of country's disconnects
- Iraqi voices: Colonel helped with surge, then his past came calling
- A special homecoming from Iraq
The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is 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 neighborhood.
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.
Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org and Matthew Hoh of the Center for International Policy debate the winners and losers of the Iraq War and the non-military presence that will remain.
Still, despite 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.
Bombings and attacks have eased since American and Iraqi security forces weakened insurgents. But roadside bombs, car bombs and assassinations still kill and maim almost every day.
A frail economy, constant power shortages, scarce jobs and discontent with political leaders all fuel uncertainty among Iraqis.
"Thanks to the Americans. They took us away from Saddam Hussein, I have to say that. But I think now we are going to be in trouble," said Malik Abed, 44, a vendor at a Baghdad fish market. "Maybe the terrorists will start attacking us again."
Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Post-US Iraq: Welcome to Shia-stan
- Nazi hunters boost drive to find aging war criminals before they die
- Pakistan opposition leader: War on terror creating extremists
- Wild monkeys to detect radiation at Fukushima
- North Korea's heir apparent's hair apparent as fashion hit
- UN chief defends NATO, calls for action on Syria
- Rebellious Chinese village under siege by police
- Iraqis unable to defend their borders as US exits
The Associated Press, Reuters, NBC News and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
BRAVO for ending an ill-gotten war. My prayers for all humans who lost their lives for no reason. All the living who are dying everyday without their loved ones - American, Iraqi equal. Bring them home from Afghanistan as well.
I hope the war machine learns from this mayhem unless of course the war profiteers win again.
No more excuces!
Defend Americans: INVADE MEXICO!
Thanks to those who bought it and fought it. I never bought it and thankful I was too old to have fought it. And to Iran... your welcome. Not sure what you did to deserve it, but congratulations on the defeat of your mortal enemy, Sadam and Iraq.
It's funny how the media portrays the "truth." Now the media is scare of its own shadow and makes, a la fixnews network, its own "news." Back during the Viet Nam war, although we had a war, we still could count on the media to show us and tell us the truth, but that is not an American value anymore. I could say, unequivocally, that the media then helped to bring the war to an early end. I wouldn't say it was the main reason for it, but it sure helped. Many people claim that the photograph of that Viet Namese child burned by our baby killers then had a lot to do with it, but now since "freedom and security" have taken a new role, a new meaning, we have neither, all we have to show for is bigotry and hate. I don't know how anybody can call this monster security when at the same time making all the citizens, including children and seniors terrorist threats.
Why can the media say: Americans ejected, evicted from Iraq. It's obvioulsy and we knew it, almost from the beginning, that no Arab, no Muslim wanted us there nor they want us there today. Who would like to have foreigners to tell you what to do. Maybe America loves the Tara plantantion mentality, but the world doesn't.
Of course, people see what they want to see and the hell with reality. Nobody, except very few sources, can claim that many Iraqis feel that times under Saddam were much better than under this "democracy" we created, democracy that made Puttin laughed about what Americans call a "democracy." From one of the oldest and most historic city in the world, they became another war zone, another tragedy for humanity.
I better quit, while I'm ahead, otherwise the people here, I call censors, might have to put: Collapsed by the community? because many can't stand the truth, nor handle the truth. But the worse part is that America the beautifl will be no more, just America the ugly with its ugly Americans. Bye freedom, bye security, bye democracy, bye Constitution.
Well for one im glad to see our men and women get to come home to be with loved ones for the holiday. I will also say every one that they never found wmd over there well you need to think again they might be the kind we was looking for but there were stock piles found over there. most people in this country fail to realize one thing any thing that causes massive amounts of damage is a wmd. i dont like war but, but war is a part of life that is why we have men and women in the armed services to keep us free at ngiht as we lay in our beds asleep. i served and if i had to again i would go right back in. God Bless Our Troops and to all the you men and women hope you have a Safe and Merry christmas you deserve it.
We should have kept the oil ,at least, to pay for our "investment". As the troops come out with the sunset behind them....oh wait, that's not the sunset..it's the glow of all the ordnance the Shiites and Sunnis are dropping on each other. "There will be blood." Iranians are rolling in the floor laughing their asses off. When you leave in the fourth quarter...that's a forfeit isn't it?
First of all its not the end, there will still be Americans there, just like in Bosnia, Korea, Germany and Japan. We dont ever seem to completely leave anywhere.
Second, as many pointed out, this war was a waste of our lives and our money. It should never have been fought. Afghanistan is almost as bad. 100K troops chasing 500 Taliban, with Packistan helping them out.
We get ourselves involved in the worst nonsense at a time when we can least afford it.
usa "ends war" is misleading. the war will not be over until every single one of our troops is back home! i'll believe it when i see it....
So.....now Iran is free and clear to invade and take over Iraq and they will do it. Sad, really sad, that our "commander in chief" did not listen to any of his military commanders who advised leaving behind enough men to help the Iraqis with this transition. Instead, he played politics. Sad, very sad.
It will take a nuke to keep Iran and their allies, the Russians, out of there. Good work GW.
So GSgal, you wanted our troops to be tried in Iraqi courts? Is that what you're saying. Because that is what would happen. Every time something over there happened and someone got killed, one or more of our troops would have been tried in a Iraqi court. Good luck with that. Hope one of them would not be your son or daughter.
Can't anybody be just a little happy that we are finally starting to pull most of our troops out of there?
I say thank you Mr. Obama for finally keeping at least one promise.
This chapter ending should have never been written. It's the saddest one of all because it was a lie. It's over now, close it up, and move on. The real truth about this war and why it started may not be known for many years, but when it does become published, the ones who will hurt the most will be the troops. There IS a difference between fighting for something and fighting for nothing. It was a bitter reality I had to face a Vietnam Veteran. No bells, no whistles, no ticker tape parades. Not even the satisfaction of knowing that I was actually protecting the people of the United States. Even that was a lie.
The simple reality stares you right in the face. If Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, if Iraq posed no immediate or imminent danger to the US, and independently verified evidence proves that they did NOT, then what were we at war in Iraq for? No one is paying attention to that now as it takes a while to sink in.
The war should have ended when it was clear the no WMD's existed as I and many others knew before the war. Everyone who was responsible in starting this war should be made to face the public. John McCain called Obama's decision a blunder, well I will hold back no more. What the hell does John McCain know about combat he spent most of the Vietnam War in a FRIGGIN prison camp! He did not have to slog it out on the ground! He did not have to fly anymore missions. Prison camp life was tough but neither was it actual combat, which I must say was tougher! It doesn't reflect on his patriotism, but neither should he question the President's over this issue! Yet this idiot wanted to keep our troop in harm's way FOR WHAT? He never had to do what he wants the troops to do. He was prepared to send our troops into Libya!
Let's hope we're smarter in the future.
I wish we were...but they are leaving Iraq because they have a bigger fish to fry....they want Iran. They may take Syria down first...but the prize is IRAN. We have a criminal government in place in washington. The NDAA bill they are passing...the defense authorization bill will pertain to US CITIZENS...that means we are quietly in a state of martial law after the criminal obama signs it. This also means that starting today, It will be official...they can arrest & detain indefinitely any american on us soil...and/or kill us without trial. We just lost the bill of rights today in an official obama signing...but the msm wont tell us that. If you want more truth...go to... www.infowars.com. read the real news over there...
OH YES...the War in Iraq is over......& some of the troops are coming home. Not all of them. From the other sources I have read...the Military industrial complex, the bilderbergs, trilaterals, CFR, the offshore Banking Cartel is itching for another War....They need another WAR to mask the massive global debt everyone has & to further implode the world economies to usher in one world government. If you think all the troops are coming back to US soil...dont kid yourself....many are being sent to Kuwait as I type this....and are preparing for all out war with IRAN. They are gonna have this war with Iran by hook or by crook. They have already started a COVERT war inside IRan bombing bases and facilities...and killing scientists and taking out other key infrastructure in the Hopes IRAN will retaliate against ISRAEL.....then the MAIN WAR is on. If you think for a minute these wars are winding down....think again...we are just shutting off the spiquot on Iraq....and retooling for IRAN...which will be a far bigger war...and far deadlier.....this war with involve RUSSIA & China....and then your going to see WORLD WAR 3. IN THE BEGINNING get ready to see 9 to 12 bucks per Gallon at the Pump....but it will get worse from there. Iraq was a SHAM WAR...all lies from Bush...and Obama...is no better........he extended the war.......3+ yrs after taking office...so much for troops out in 6 months after taking oath as president. We have a criminal government in washington...the sooner people realize that...the better we will be. Al quaeda is not the enemy...they are a manufactured enemy of the US & BritisH governments to justify taking our rights away...and expanding the Military industrial complex with an endless war on terror....which is all lies. You can disbelieve...but before you criticize....go do some serious research into this. I have....its your turn.
Over 4,000 of our men and women died because daddy wanted his son to go into a war that wasn't necessary in the first place
President Obama: Congratulations you have completed one of your campaign promises, a little later than i had hoped. Maybe you could start underwear factories in iraq and we could buy iraqi made underwear from them instead of china.
Now one final question: When are we going to bring the troops home from Afganistan? What we will end up with, with the help of iran will be islamiraq and shariastan. Waste of our blood. Bring the troops home.
I realize it wont save any money, but, at least we wont have to borrow money from the chinese. How about starting here. Like dropping the price of gas to $1.80 a gallon and put some money in americas pockets to spend and create jobs. We are not stupid. Nobody listens to us. Maybe you will break the washington impasse and start. Respectfully, Maddog.
Sounds like a Democrat what can the government give and do for me so I can. For a Republican to come out with statements like that. I'm sorry but the Republicans and the teabaggers want you to turn you card in
Mission Accomplished. What was that mission again ...? Oh yea, "to seek out and defeat evil". Glad that's over with. I hate evil.
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were invited to the ceremony but did not attend."
Please explain to me again why we were there in the first place!
Was is to rid the Middle East of a tyrant, destroy the Weapons of Mass Destruction that were never found, help stabilize the Middle East and ensure Iran doesn't invade it's border neighbors, secure the Iraqi oil fields for our use, was it to try and restore W's fathers Honor that he supposedly lost in the first Gulf War, and last but not least was it to make Cheney a rich man by using Halliburton and it's subsidiaries in "no bid" contracts that W approved?
i would say YES to most of the above
You got that right hit it right on the head. Now we need to stop Iran a real threat with bombs and missiles no ground troops. Then say behave your self or we will send over more missiles but no Bush ground troops
My point above was not taken correctly.
Our country was sent to war in Iraq on the premise of the "War on Terror" and to find Osama bin Laden!
Most of the points I mentioned above were points made by the Cheney/Bush Administration (if you want to call it that) and how the reason (excuses) for the United States to be in Iraq changed during the course of military involvement. It was all a list of lies and changing themes to make it seem we (the U.S.A.) were actually trying to do something good for the world when it fact it was doing nothing but maiming and killing our young while lining the pockets of Cheney, Bush, and all of the complicite cronies!
Now it's time to try Geo. Bush for war crimes and lying to the American people and the world. WMD? That stands for W's Mind demented.
I don't know if he is competent to stand trial or if he was when he was in office playing with his plastic army men in the sand
although i am glad to see our soldiers coming home, it always strikes me as funny the way they say the "iraq WAR"
this has been nothing but a military action from the start,,the united states government NEVER declared this a WAR as per the constitution.
so what they should have said is ,,the military action in iraq is over,,or better yet,,the unconstitutional occupation of a foreign country is at an end.
however you know just as well as i do that we will ALWAYS have troops stationed in the middle east,,so when they say that the "WAR" is over remember that it dosent mean that ALL of our troops are coming home.
On tv the other day Dick head Chaney was saying this was all Bushes agenda and he was mad that we weren't keeping thousands and thousands troops over there .He would have made them keep the troops period. Thank God those two morons are out of office
When I look back on the Bush years, I think of the lies. There were so many. Lies about the war and lies to cover up the lies about the war. Lies about torture and surveillance.
Lies about Valerie Plame. Cheney's lies, criminally prosecutable but for his chief of staff Scooter Libby's lies. I also think about the extraordinary and fundamentally cancerous expansion of executive power that led to violations of our laws and our principles.
And while this wasn't as readily apparent until President Obama took office, it's now very clear that the Bush years were all about kicking the can down the road – either ignoring problems or, even worse, creating them and not solving them.
This was true of a huge range of issues including the economy, energy, health care, global warming – and of course Iraq and Afghanistan."
There will never be justice in the United States until this drunken @!$%# Bush and VP Cheney are jailed for mass murder, corruption, flagrant violations of the law, and his refusal to recognize human rights. They also responsible for the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor.
They are directly responsible for the misery and lost hopes of millions of human beings because of his reckless handling of the American economy.
There will never be justice in the United States until this drunken @!$%# Bush and VP Cheney are jailed for mass murder, corruption, flagrant violations of the law, and his refusal to recognize human rights. They also responsible for the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor.
They are directly responsible for the misery and lost hopes of millions of human beings because of his reckless handling of the American economy.
Dick, you haven't been attention have you? What oil did we get from Iraq? What was the 'war of pleasure' you speak of? The entire world wanted us to take down that scumbug Saddam and we did, and those who supported that move included the UN andour Congress, which included Obama. So perhaps you should actually understand history before making such ludicrous statements.
Walking away and leaving Iraq defenseless means all of the lives lost and money spent was a total waste, and we have this current fraud in 'our' white house to thank for that. We were so close to success and the plug gets pulled. Why? For his need for votes of course, and he believes this will help him, but as usual he's wrong.
So close to success? What exactly would that mean and how "close" do you think we were...only another 4,000 dead US servicemen?
Bush stats a needless and illegal war killing thousands, wounding tens of thousands and costing $1t..and he's a hero.
Obama stops the war and brings the troops home but he's a bum.
Only the GOP has logic like that.
Now how many US soldiers and innocent civilians are going to lose their lives in Afghanistan? The quest for big oil profits continue.
Nine out of ten soldiers will tell you in private that this whole thing was a waste of time. Only the colonels and generals will say it was worth it because it is in their vested interest to do so as part of the military/industrial complex that runs this country. And, we need to get out of Afganistan tomorrow!
I am glad that Panetta feels he is in a position to make a comment that the outcome was worth the price in money and blood. It wasn't his money or his blood that was spent. All because GBII had to get even with the guy that made GBI look like a clown. This money could have been better spent on homeland security which is still a serious problem. While I am sure that the families of those soldiers that lost their lives are proud of them, I doubt that they feel the price they paid was worth the outcome.
The best political spin of the century! We are still in war people its not over yet stop celebrating and parsing Obama he did nothing.
Thank God!! Thank you to all of the troops that fought in this terrible war. I might not have agreed with the war's purpose, but that is no reason to not support those that fought it.