U.S. Ends Mission To Iraq

In a small ceremony today the U.S. mission to Iraq finally came to an end. It was a war that cost
almost 4.5000 American lives and billions of dollars.

The Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq furled his flag during the short ceremony, which signified
the end of his command. The ceremony was attended by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Pannetta,
Army General Martin Dempsey-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ambassador
James Jeffery.


The last 4,000 troops will depart by this weekend, fulfilling a promise by President Obama to
withdraw all American soldiers by years end.


The U.S. diplomatic mission will still contain about 200 U.S. military personnel to oversee
arms sales and other military exchanges for a while longer.

We wish the nation of Iraq all the best in the coming years. It will not be an easy task, and they
will face huge tasks and challenges. There will be terrorists and others who will seek to destroy
the new government. There is also the likelihood of renewed ethnic and sectarian struggles and
more violence. Plus the fact that Iran is sure to assert more influence in the region is sure to create
more problems for Iraq.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember" 

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996