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Reporters Notebook: Panetta Formally Ends U.S. Military Mission In Iraq | Fox News
My thoughts of the Iraqi War! As a currently active servicemember which has been involved in both the Afghan and Iraqi wars since day one i'm glad to hear the official word that this conflict has been declared as over and my fellow servicemembers can now return home to their families and start their own chapter of rebuilding of their lives. Welcome Home
The thing that irritates me most is how interesting this is not even the headline story on many news pages. Bush went in with a bang, but had no plan to get us out. Ten years later we finally left very quietly and without celebration. By comparison, Ronald Reagan picked battles that were easy, meaningless and over quickly (Grenada, Panama). When American soldiers were threatened, he simply removed them (Lebanon)....i liked how he handled business but yet he is thought of as exercising American military might. The other thing that pisses me of is the the way that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said it was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy......are you kidding me. I guess thats easy to say when he's never had to deal with a Haji looking to kill him just for the sake of Allah. If you remember correctly our " Mission" was to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Gee, I thought it was to take away his Weapons of Mass Destruction (which were never found). Funny how the mission kept changing, it changed to the point where me personally had lost track as to why we were in that crappy country and yet with the support from our nations people, me and my fellow brothers and sisters dug in for the long haul.
In my opinion, the Iraq debacle was an embarassment. The world watched as the war ruined our economy, further destabilized the Middle East, watch government contractors get rich and destroyed the lives of 4,500 families. Too bad our politicians were so worried about Iraq and neglected America. Iraq was done to secure economic entitlements through oil. Those economic entitlements should go into paying off the cost of this war first, before any private profits are allowed on the books.
This is a great and long over due national Christmas present. Though I do have to strongly disagree with Mr. Panetta's assessment. Iraq wasn't worth a single drop of our military's blood and wasn't worth a single penny of treasure. Every dollar spent was wasted and lost. Every single casualty was in vain. Panetta should be offering an apology to the US, not justifying this misadventure.
So as I reflect back on this war, a couple good things did come out of it and they were the death of a dictator and his sons and the George Bush legacy has finally been put to rest. Only time will tell on how this one will play out, the Iraqi people, due to us, now have a new chapter in history and history will judge America for giving it to them. In my opinion this one was a mistake from the beginning plain and simple. I'm sure the violence will return, in which we will have to pull out the remaining DOD employees working the palace size embassy compound not alone watch the infrastructure collapse. The Sunnis versus ****ies is a issue to where somebody will have to go back in and put out that fire along with the Iranian influence will also be a issue. So in the end did we actually win this war???
As a 19yr vet that has served proudly for the United States of America keep in mind that wars never really end for the troops who endure the worst horrors, not captured on camera, they just tap that 30 round mag of 5.56 on their kevlar, reload and transition into the next phase. Let's hope the American public pays attention and has a say so in the next conflict.
My thoughts of the Iraqi War! As a currently active servicemember which has been involved in both the Afghan and Iraqi wars since day one i'm glad to hear the official word that this conflict has been declared as over and my fellow servicemembers can now return home to their families and start their own chapter of rebuilding of their lives. Welcome Home
The thing that irritates me most is how interesting this is not even the headline story on many news pages. Bush went in with a bang, but had no plan to get us out. Ten years later we finally left very quietly and without celebration. By comparison, Ronald Reagan picked battles that were easy, meaningless and over quickly (Grenada, Panama). When American soldiers were threatened, he simply removed them (Lebanon)....i liked how he handled business but yet he is thought of as exercising American military might. The other thing that pisses me of is the the way that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said it was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy......are you kidding me. I guess thats easy to say when he's never had to deal with a Haji looking to kill him just for the sake of Allah. If you remember correctly our " Mission" was to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Gee, I thought it was to take away his Weapons of Mass Destruction (which were never found). Funny how the mission kept changing, it changed to the point where me personally had lost track as to why we were in that crappy country and yet with the support from our nations people, me and my fellow brothers and sisters dug in for the long haul.
In my opinion, the Iraq debacle was an embarassment. The world watched as the war ruined our economy, further destabilized the Middle East, watch government contractors get rich and destroyed the lives of 4,500 families. Too bad our politicians were so worried about Iraq and neglected America. Iraq was done to secure economic entitlements through oil. Those economic entitlements should go into paying off the cost of this war first, before any private profits are allowed on the books.
This is a great and long over due national Christmas present. Though I do have to strongly disagree with Mr. Panetta's assessment. Iraq wasn't worth a single drop of our military's blood and wasn't worth a single penny of treasure. Every dollar spent was wasted and lost. Every single casualty was in vain. Panetta should be offering an apology to the US, not justifying this misadventure.
So as I reflect back on this war, a couple good things did come out of it and they were the death of a dictator and his sons and the George Bush legacy has finally been put to rest. Only time will tell on how this one will play out, the Iraqi people, due to us, now have a new chapter in history and history will judge America for giving it to them. In my opinion this one was a mistake from the beginning plain and simple. I'm sure the violence will return, in which we will have to pull out the remaining DOD employees working the palace size embassy compound not alone watch the infrastructure collapse. The Sunnis versus ****ies is a issue to where somebody will have to go back in and put out that fire along with the Iranian influence will also be a issue. So in the end did we actually win this war???
As a 19yr vet that has served proudly for the United States of America keep in mind that wars never really end for the troops who endure the worst horrors, not captured on camera, they just tap that 30 round mag of 5.56 on their kevlar, reload and transition into the next phase. Let's hope the American public pays attention and has a say so in the next conflict.
lease:
...I didn't know there was doubt, I mean... its not like elections are coming up 
