Shhh..... The Iraq War Is Over.

Amen, Brother ..


     Just in case it hasn't been been made aware to you, the Iraq War officially ended today.  Troops are leaving.  The Iraqi army is now in charge of their own destiny.  If it seems that not much has been made of this, you're alone in thinking that...


     Listening to POTUS yesterday, Bill Press was noting the odd silence over the end here.  Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki was in DC on Monday to meet with President Obama.  There was no official state ceremony to mark the event.  Al-Maliki's visit was no different from any other leader of state.  Odd indeed...


    The most important thing is that it IS over, and that is a good thing.  Iraq needs to take care of itself, and we think the lack of an American presence will assist in calming tensions down.  Not completely, of course.  Shiite and Sunni hatred will always be there.  Bombs will still go off, and people will die. It's gonna happen, but it should lessen.  Southerners should have a good understanding of outsiders living in your home with guns...


   Was it a success?  Yes, and no.  Iraq is free, and Saddam Hussein is gone.  It seems in hindsight that the reasons for going in were incorrect.  Whether or not it was worth 4000 American lives and $1T in spending (there's that T again), is up for debate.  Most of us will never agree on that.  The important thing is that it is over.  Whatever errors were made in Iraq do not need to be made in Afghanistan.  We are far from done in the War on Terror.  I can tell you personally.  I hear of phone calls from my cousin Chris, who is in the 82nd Airborne.  He is still out there a lot, unable to tell us where he is, or when he will return....


    That's the only part that makes us upset a little.  Barack Obama stopped by Fort Bragg this week to give a speech, but by not giving a more formal and greater marking of the end, it puts a little tarnish on the work and service of those who fought and those who died in Iraq.  No, we wouldn't expect a VE or VJ Day-type of celebration, but the tepid way that Obama and Congress have marked it is disappointing...

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