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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

It's over. It's finally over! Last U.S. combat troops, 4th Stryker Brigade, leave Iraq today


As I write this a convoy of 68 Strykers are minutes away from the Kuwait border. They are the last, the final combat troops in Iraq and they are leaving. The Iraq War is over.

More than 50,000 U.S. military remain in Iraq. They are doctors, nurses, medical techs, teachers, social workers, I.T. people, trades and construction people and personnel necessary to provide support services. The combat troops are gone.

The reports coming from MSNBC have been blowing away the other networks with live and extraordinary coverage. They even have Richard Engel, a top-level veteran journalist, riding along with the troops as they leave.

This brings a close to the active combat phase of a 7½-year war that overthrew the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, forever defined the presidency of George W. Bush and left more than 4,400 American service members and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead.

The final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Washington (Joint Base Lewis - McChord), is about to enter Kuwait in minutes. They are carrying the last of the 14,000 U.S. combat forces in Iraq, said Engel, who is reporting live via some impressive satellite broadcast equipment.

As I write this at 4:10 PM, Wednesday, Aug 18, the 4th Stryker Brrigade is approaching the Kuwait border. Richard Engel is reporting live that they are 5 miles from the border. Engel estimates 15 minutes before the main portion of the convoy crosses the border. He estimates the final vehicle will cross the border and leave Iraq less than an hour.

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