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Last US troops leave Iraq, ending war
[Al Ahram] The last convoy of US soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country still grappling with political uncertainty.

The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
to oust dictator Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing orcs, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in the Arab region.

The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armoured vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert through the night along an empty highway and across the Kuwaiti border.

Honking their horns, the last batch of around 25 American military trucks and tractor trailers carrying Bradley fighting vehicles crossed the border early on Sunday, their crews waving at fellow troops along the route.

"I just can't wait to call my wife and kids and let them know I am safe," Rodolfo Ruiz said as the border came into sight. Soon afterwards, he told his men the mission was over, "Hey guys, you made it."

Posted by: Fred 2011-12-19
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=335488