Last combat brigade leaves Iraq!

[R13]

Mosul, Iraq (CNN) -- The last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq has left the country, a move that helps U.S. President Barack Obama reach his goal of 50,000 troops in the country by September 1.

Their departure leaves about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, according to the U.S. military.

Capt. Christopher Ophardt, spokesman for the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, said the last of the 4,000 members of the unit crossed the border into Kuwait early Thursday.

A few hundred members stayed behind to finish administrative and logistical duties but will fly out of Baghdad later Thursday, Ophardt said.

Much of the brigade departed more than a day ago, but the announcement was delayed for security reasons.

Their departure comes more than seven years after U.S. combat forces entered, though their departure does not signify the end of all U.S. combat forces in the country.

Another 6,000 U.S. troops must leave Iraq to meet Obama's deadline for the end of U.S. combat operations in the country and the beginning of Operation New Dawn, in which the remaining U.S. forces are expected to switch to an advise-and-assist role.

We're keeping the promise that we've made when I began my campaign for the presidency
--U.S. President Barack Obama

A public information officer at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, said it will take a few weeks for all of the 4-2's members to return home. "It is one flight at a time," she said. "We are expecting most of them to be home by mid-September."

As they prepared to depart, some soldiers laughed and some expressed relief at having survived multiple deployments. A few reminisced about having endured firefights and helping carry the bodies of buddies off the field of battle. Many said they would never forget the war.

"The first time you get shot at, it's just, I mean, it wakes you up," said Sgt. Terry Wetzel, the company's senior sniper. "You think, before you come here, that you're an adult, that you're a grown man. But this place will change you."

Wetzel said he was ready to go home. "I feel like we have done as much as we can do here now. It's pretty much up to the Iraqi army and Iraqi police and their government," he said. "We have helped them out as much as we can."

"We put our blood, sweat and tears since we've been here for 12 months and we know we did our job and we know it's not going to be in vain, but there's a lot of excitement right now," said Spc. Don Lanpher as he prepared to depart.

"We're keeping the promise that we've made when I began my campaign for the presidency," Obama said Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, where he was attending a Democratic fundraiser. "By the end of this month ... our combat mission will be over in Iraq."

Obama said that more than 90,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq in the past 18 months.

"And, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all of our troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year," he said.

Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN that the United States has plenty of work left to do in Iraq.

"Iraq is still at the beginning of the story of its evolution since 2003," he said, referring to the date of the U.S.-led invasion of the country. "As tired as many Americans may be, this process is still just at its beginning."

In fact, Iraq remains without a functioning government, electricity and other utilities are available only sporadically in the capital, and violence appears to be increasing. At least 48 people were killed Tuesday outside a military recruiting center in Baghdad.

"We're going to have to leave a large footprint behind, and this is not going away for us as an issue," he said.

The State Department is preparing to leave much of that footprint. It will handle many of the responsibilities currently shouldered by the military, increasing its security contractors from 2,700 to nearly 7,000, sources said.

They are expected to work with diplomats and police trainers in some facilities.

The State Department has asked for an additional $400 million to cover the costs, though it was not clear they would get it.

The State Department has asked the U.S. military to leave behind surveillance systems, about 50 bomb-resistant vehicles and a few dozen UH-60 helicopters, a military official said. Though they got a lot of what they wanted, the Pentagon said it could not give them all the helicopters because they are needed in Afghanistan, the official said.

According to the Pentagon, 4,419 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.

Last U.S. combat convoy has left Iraq - CNN.com

[simple man]

And heads for Afganistan. I thought Obama was gonna cut our use of ground forces?

[centennialdawg]

Well, I don't know if you can call this a completely accomplished mission. Yes, we did get Hussein, but, did we achieve our objectice? I am afraid our soldiers will come home to a feeling of failing their mission. The opposition was not defeated, they just kinda disappeared until we get out completely, then they will be back.

I am glad the troops are coming home, though. Let's all pray for them and their health both physically and mentally.

[R13]

Not really heading for Afghan, they begin their withdrawal next year I believe. But there isn't an "mission accomplished", both wars could never be "won", what would constitute a win in either place?

[Milk3]

Not really heading for Afghan, they begin their withdrawal next year I believe. But there isn't an "mission accomplished", both wars could never be "won", what would constitute a win in either place?

A win for Bush in Iraq would have been getting people in power there that he could control and get oil from IMO That was a stupid decision on his part.

[Milk3]

Not really heading for Afghan, they begin their withdrawal next year I believe. But there isn't an "mission accomplished", both wars could never be "won", what would constitute a win in either place?

A win for Bush in Iraq would have been getting people in power there that he could control and get oil from IMO That was a stupid decision on his part. 56,000 is still a lot of soldiers though. How long until they get home? I also hope that pulling these troops out does not allow someone like Irans "president" to get into power there. 2 crazies like that in neighboring countries would be a disaster .

[R13]

A win for Bush in Iraq would have been getting people in power there that he could control and get oil from IMO That was a stupid decision on his part. 56,000 is still a lot of soldiers though. How long until they get home? I also hope that pulling these troops out does not allow someone like Irans "president" to get into power there. 2 crazies like that in neighboring countries would be a disaster .

Lol at least you're honest, oil and power, at least someone finally admitted the motivations for the war. Sorry, but near a trillion dollars, well over 4,000 of our troops dead(not including coalition troops and 10k Iraqi police/military dead), tens of thousands of more injured, plus you know the 100k+ innocent civilians dead and probably 5 times more than that injured...isn't winnable. The mission of finding the WMD's wasn't possible, Saddam being gone is terrible for the Middle East(though the world is better off with a horrible person gone).

But there is an agreement with our gov. and Iraqi gov to be out by Dec. 31st of next year, but we're scheduled to be out 4 months before than on August 31st. Obama established there will be no permanent bases there.

[R13]

KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq ? A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets

As the U.S. draws down in Iraq, it is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects. More than $5 billion in American taxpayer funds has been wasted ? more than 10 percent of the some $50 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction in Iraq, according to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency.

That amount is likely an underestimate, based on an analysis of more than 300 reports by auditors with the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. And it does not take into account security costs, which have run almost 17 percent for some projects.

There are success stories. Hundreds of police stations, border forts and government buildings have been built, Iraqi security forces have improved after years of training, and a deep water port at the southern oil hub of Umm Qasr has been restored.

Even completed projects for the most part fell far short of original goals, according to an Associated Press review of hundreds of audits and investigations and visits to several sites. And the verdict is still out on whether the program reached its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of the insurgents.

[Related: Iraqis say war 'not ending']

Col. Jon Christensen, who took over as commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District this summer, said the federal agency has completed more than 4,800 projects and is rushing to finish 233 more. Some 595 projects have been terminated, mostly for security reasons.

Christensen acknowledged that mistakes have been made. But he said steps have been taken to fix them, and the success of the program will depend ultimately on the Iraqis "? who have complained that they were not consulted on projects to start with.

"There's only so much we could do," Christensen said. "A lot of it comes down to them taking ownership of it."

The reconstruction program in Iraq has been troubled since its birth shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S. was forced to scale back many projects even as they spiked in cost, sometimes to more than double or triple initial projections.

As part of the so-called surge strategy, the military in 2007 shifted its focus to protecting Iraqis and winning their trust. American soldiers found themselves hiring contractors to paint schools, refurbish pools and oversee neighborhood water distribution centers. The $3.6 billion Commander's Emergency Response Program provided military units with ready cash for projects, and paid for Sunni fighters who agreed to turn against al-Qaida in Iraq for a monthly salary.

But sometimes civilian and military reconstruction efforts were poorly coordinated and overlapped.

Iraqis can see one of the most egregious examples of waste as they drive north from Baghdad to Khan Bani Saad. A prison rises from the desert, complete with more than two dozen guard towers and surrounded by high concrete walls. But the only signs of life during a recent visit were a guard shack on the entry road and two farmers tending a nearby field.

In March 2004, the Corps of Engineers awarded a $40 million contract to global construction and engineering firm Parsons Corp. to design and build a prison for 3,600 inmates, along with educational and vocational facilities. Work was set to finish in November 2005.

But violence was escalating in the area, home to a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite extremists. The project started six months late and continued to fall behind schedule, according to a report by the inspector general.

The U.S. government pulled the plug on Parsons in June 2006, citing "continued schedule slips and ... massive cost overruns," but later awarded three more contracts to other companies. Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons said it did its best under difficult and violent circumstances.

Citing security concerns, the U.S. finally abandoned the project in June 2007 and handed over the unfinished facility to Iraq's Justice Ministry. The ministry refused to "complete, occupy or provide security" for it, according to the report. More than $1.2 million in unused construction material also was abandoned due to fears of violence.

The inspector general recommended another use be found for the partially finished buildings inside the dusty compound. But three years later, piles of bricks and barbed wire lie around, and tumbleweed is growing in the caked sand.

"It will never hold a single Iraqi prisoner," said inspector general Stuart Bowen, who has overseen the reconstruction effort since it started. "Forty million dollars wasted in the desert."

Another problem was coordination with the Iraqis, who have complained they weren't consulted and often ended up paying to complete unfinished facilities they didn't want in the first place.

"Initially when we came in ... we didn't collaborate as much as we should have with the correct people and figure out what their needs were," Christensen said. He stressed that Iraqis are now closely involved in all projects.

[Related: Obama nears pivotal moment in Middle East]

One clinic was handed over to local authorities without a staircase, said Shaymaa Mohammed Amin, the head of the Diyala provincial reconstruction and development committee.

"We were almost forced to take them," she said during an interview at the heavily fortified local government building in the provincial capital of Baqouba. "Generally speaking, they were below our expectations. Huge funds were wasted and they would not have been wasted if plans had been clear from the beginning."

As an example, she cited a date honey factory that was started despite a more pressing need for schools and vital infrastructure. She said some schools were left without paint or chalkboards, and needed renovations.

"We ended up paying twice," she said.

In some cases, Iraqi ministries have refused to take on the responsibility for U.S.-funded programs, forcing the Americans to leave abandoned buildings littering the landscape.

"The area of waste I'm most concerned about in the entire program is the waste that might occur after completed projects are handed over to the Iraqis," Bowen said.

The U.S. military pinned great hopes on a $5.7 million convention center inside the tightly secured Baghdad International Airport compound, as part of a commercial hub aimed at attracting foreign investors. A few events were held at the sprawling complex, including a three-day energy conference that drew oil executives from as far away as Russia and Japan in 2008, which the U.S. military claimed generated $1 million in revenues.

But the contracts awarded for the halls did not include requirements to connect them to the main power supply. The convention center, still requiring significant work, was transferred to the Iraqi government "as is" on Jan. 20, according to an audit by the inspector general's office.

The buildings have since fallen into disrepair, and dozens of boxes of fluorescent lightbulbs and other equipment disappeared from the site. Light poles outside have toppled over and the glass facade is missing from large sections of the abandoned buildings.

Waste also came from trying to run projects while literally under fire.

The Americans committed to rebuilding the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah after it was destroyed in major offensives in 2004. The U.S. awarded an initial contract for a new waste water treatment system to FluorAMEC of Greenville, S.C. ? just three months after four American private security contractors were savagely attacked. The charred and mutilated remains of two of them were strung from a bridge in the city.

An audit concluded that it was unrealistic for the U.S. "to believe FluorAMEC could even begin construction, let alone complete the project, while fierce fighting occurred daily." The report also pointed out repeated redesigns of the project, and financial and contracting problems.

[Video: Terror acts coming after troop withdrawal?]

The Fallujah waste water treatment system is nearly complete ? four years past the deadline, at a cost of more than three times the original $32.5 million estimate. It has been scaled back to serve just a third of the population, and Iraqi officials said it still lacks connections to houses and a pipe to join neighborhood tanks up with the treatment plant.

Desperate residents, meanwhile, have begun dumping their sewage in the tanks, causing foul odors and running the risk of seepage, according to the head of Fallujah's municipal council, Sheik Hameed Ahmed Hashim.

"It isn't appropriate for the Americans to give the city these services without completing these minor details," Hashim said. "We were able to wipe out part of the memories of the Fallujah battles through this and other projects. ... If they leave the project as it is, I think their reputation will be damaged."

By contrast, the Basra children's hospital ? one of the largest projects undertaken by the U.S. in Iraq ? looks like a shining success story, with gardeners tending manicured lawns in preparation for its opening. But that opening has been repeatedly delayed, most recently for a lack of electricity.

The construction of a "state of the art" pediatric specialist hospital with a cancer unit was projected to be completed by December 2005 for about $50 million. By last year, the cost had soared above $165 million, including more than $100 million in U.S. funds, and the equipment was dated, according to an auditors' report.

Investigators blamed the delays on unrealistic timeframes, poor soil conditions, multiple partners and funding sources and security problems at the site, including the murder of 24 workers. Bechtel, the project contractor, was removed because of monthslong delays blamed on poor subcontractor performance and limited oversight, the special inspector general's office said. A Bechtel spokeswoman, Michelle Allen, said the company had recommended in 2006 that work on the hospital be put on hold because of the "intolerable security situation."

In an acknowledgment that they weren't getting exactly what they hoped for, Iraqi officials insisted the label "state of the art" be removed from a memorandum of understanding giving them the facility. It was described as a "modern pediatric hospital."

Hospital director Kadhim Fahad said construction has been completed and the electricity issue resolved.

"The opening will take place soon, God willing," he said.

Residents are pleased with the outcome. One, Ghassan Kadhim, said: "It is the duty of the Americans to do such projects because they were the ones who inflicted harm on people."

AP IMPACT: US wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq - Yahoo! News

[R13]

And at 5pm, just a few minutes ago, the combat mission in Iraq has ended. Obama will be addressing the nation tonight at 8 too.


Washington (CNN) -- Almost seven and a half years ago, President George W. Bush launched a blistering "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq.

The goal: Eliminate a perceived threat of weapons of mass destruction while replacing a hostile, tyrannical regime with a friendly democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

On Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET -- at a cost of more than 4,400 U.S. military personnel killed and 30,000 wounded -- America's combat mission in Iraq will officially draw to a close.

The quick removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ushered in years of grinding sectarian violence, war, terrorist attacks and, according to some observers, increased Iranian influence in the region. Various groups have estimated the Iraqi civilian death toll to be roughly 100,000 or more. But the war also paved the way for nationwide elections and increasing economic development.

Whether it was worth the price remains a subject of fierce debate both at home and abroad.
Video: Iraq war never over for some
Video: Biden visits Baghdad
Gallery: Newsmakers from the Iraq war
Gallery: Life in Iraq
RELATED TOPICS

* Iraq War
* U.S. Armed Forces Activities
* George W. Bush
* Barack Obama

President Barack Obama, who based much of his campaign for the White House on growing public exhaustion with the conflict, will announce the conclusion of the combat mission in a speech to be delivered from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. He spent the day meeting with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas -- a base that has supplied soldiers at all stages of the conflict.

Obama called Bush for a "few minutes" from Air Force One while en route to Texas, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. The White House has not said if Obama will give Bush any credit during his speech for the controversial 2007-08 military "surge," believed by some observers to have helped curtail Iraqi violence.

His remarks are "not going to be a victory lap," Obama told the troops stationed at Fort Bliss. "We still have a lot of work to do."

Obama said his main message will be a simple one to military veterans of the conflict: "Congratulations on a job well done."

Ben Rhodes, a presidential foreign policy speechwriter, told reporters Obama's remarks will focus on -- among other things -- the responsibilities of Iraqi leaders moving forward, as well as the new partnership between the United States and Iraq.

Obama will also discuss the refocusing of U.S. resources in the global fight against al Qaeda, as well as the heightened U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Rhodes said.

Vice President Joe Biden, who once advocated splitting Iraq along largely ethnic lines, is in Baghdad, Iraq, for the transition. He will also help mark Wednesday's transfer of U.S. military command there from Army Gen. Ray Odierno to Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin.

While the official U.S. combat mission is ending, roughly 50,000 American troops will remain in the country until the end of 2011. Their mission will be to train, assist and advise the Iraqis.

As the U.S. military has been scaling down, the U.S. civilian presence has been ramping up. Iraqi officials are struggling to form a new ruling coalition in the wake of March's closely contested national elections.

While Obama administration officials have touted what they say is a gradual decline in the overall level of violence in Iraq, the country has recently been the target of a series of attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned Friday of the likelihood of continuing attacks across the country. His warning came two days after 20 bomb attacks struck 13 Iraqi cities, mostly targeting police. The bombs killed 48 and wounded at least 286.

Al-Maliki said there were indications that "al Qaeda and remnants of [Saddam Hussein's] Baath party with foreign backing are planning to carry out a series of bombings in Baghdad and the other provinces."

The attacks -- a show of force for the insurgency -- have increased fears among Iraqis about the ability of their security forces to protect them after the U.S. withdrawal.

But Biden on Tuesday suggested that reports of increased violence in Iraq have been exaggerated by the media.

"Notwithstanding what the national press says about increased violence, the truth is things are still very much different," he told reporters while meeting with al-Maliki. "Things are much safer."

Biden called recent terrorist attempts "dismal."

The Iraqi prime minister marked the occasion on Tuesday with a national address proclaiming his country "sovereign and independent."

Like Biden, al-Maliki said there had been major strides in Iraqi security.

"If these security achievements were not real, we would not have been able to move to executing the bigger and more important step, which is the withdrawal of American forces that is happening today," he said.

"We do not view the withdrawal as an accomplishment of one person, or one party or one sect or one ethnicity; it is an achievement for all Iraqis. ... And it represents a golden opportunity to strengthen national unity and a starting point to build Iraq after decades of destruction and suffering."

Top Republicans were loath to give the Obama White House any credit for Tuesday's milestone.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a speech delivered Tuesday to the American Legion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that the day "belongs to our troops."

In a thinly veiled slap at Obama, Boehner said that "some leaders who opposed, criticized and fought tooth and nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results."

At a speech in his home state of Kentucky, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was more direct in his criticism.

"You might recall that the surge wasn't very popular when it was announced. You might also recall that one of its biggest critics was the current president," McConnell said.

"So it makes it easier to talk about fulfilling a campaign promise to wind down our operations in Iraq when the previous administration signs the security agreement with Iraq to end our overall presence there."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, said during a speech Tuesday to the American Legion that, despite the recent spate of attacks in Iraq, "overall levels of violence this year remain at their lowest point since the beginning of the war in 2003."

"Al Qaeda in Iraq has been largely cut off from its masters abroad."

But Gates stressed that he was not "saying that all is, or necessarily will be, well in Iraq."

"Sectarian tensions remain a fact of life. Al Qaeda in Iraq is beaten, but not gone. This is not a time for premature victory parades or self-congratulation," he said.

U.S. combat mission in Iraq nears end - CNN.com