Home By End of Summer?

I'm sure this will stir up something. The "bold" highlight is mine. Still too many troops there but if they hold true and are kept as Non-Combat support that's a Hell of a start.



BAGHDAD (AP) -- The Iraqi prime minister's coalition and its main secular rival both claimed to be ahead in the vote count Monday, a day after historic parliamentary elections that the top U.S. commander said would let all but 50,000 American troops come home by the end of summer.
Sunday's election, which took place against a backdrop of violence in Baghdad, marked a turning point for the country's nascent democracy. The winner will help determine whether Iraq can resolve its sectarian divisions and preserve the nation's fragile security as U.S. troops leave.


AP Newswire | Stars and Stripes

 

So do I my friend, So do I.

 

A short article here;

U.S. to cut Iraq troop strength by 12,000 | Reuters

 

I guess they've ironed out their differences.

Talks have taken place about a friendly in Europe next year that would constitute a 'home' game for Argentina. Having already hosted Brazil and Germany at the new Wembley, Argentina would be an obvious choice for the 2013 celebrations given their widespread appeal and the history of matches between the two sides – including Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal when Argentina knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup in the quarter-finals.
England in talks over Argentina friendly in 2011 | Football | guardian.co.uk

 

I wouldn't be so bold as to say Mission Accomplished! But one aspect is we should not be hearing that another group of Warriors will be deploying to Iraq. Afghanistan is another matter.

Last Full Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq in Convoy

By Army Pfc. Kimberly Hackbarth
U.S. Division Center
CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 19, 2010 – Through the dusty driver’s side window, Army Pfc. Thomas Johnson could see the final stretch of dirt road leading to the border.
As one of the lead elements in a company-size formation of Stryker armored vehicles, Johnson and Army Spc. Adam Porter -— both combat engineers with 38th Engineer Company, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team -- had driven collectively more than 400 miles on the unruly and sometimes deadly roads from here to Kuwait in a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle.

Defense.gov News Article: Last Full Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq in Convoy

 

Well not quite by last Summer but a year later is a hell of a lot better than a hundred years from now:

The United States and Iraq affirmed today that the U.S. will fulfill its commitments under the current U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement and withdraw all of our military forces by the end of 2011.

Today¹s announcement means that at the end of this year, there will be a clear end to the U.S. combat presence in Iraq. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to our men and women in uniform who have served in Iraq since 2003. Our troops and their families have borne a heavy burden during more than eight years of war, and paid a great price. Yet it is a testament to their strength and resilience that we are now able to bring this war to a responsible end. Thanks to their service and sacrifice, Iraq is ready to govern and defend itself and to contribute to security and stability in a vital part of the world.

Defense Secretary Panetta: Message

Defense.gov News Article: Obama: All U.S. Troops Out of Iraq by Year

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[TD] [h=3]Obama: All U.S. Troops Out of Iraq by Year’s End[/h] By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2011 – All U.S. service members will leave Iraq by the end of the year, President Barack Obama announced today.
About 40,000 U.S. service members are in the country, and all will be “home for the holidays,” Obama said.
The president made the announcement after speaking with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki this morning.
Since American forces went into Iraq in March 2003, more than 1 million Americans have deployed to the Middle Eastern country – many multiple times. More than 32,200 U.S. service members and civilians have been wounded in the country, and 4,482 were killed.
“Today, I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” the president said. “The last American soldiers will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops,” the president said. “That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end.”




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[h=3]General Calls Iraq Operations ‘Worth It’ in Final News Briefing[/h] By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011 – As the final U.S. military convoys roll out of Iraq these next three weeks, marking the end of eight years of operations, Americans can be proud of the work service members did there, U.S. Forces Iraq’s deputy commanding general said today.
In USFI’s final news briefing from Baghdad, Army Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick told the Pentagon press corps that Americans and Iraqis will have different opinions about whether Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn “were worth it.”
“From where I sit, it was,” Helmick said.
It was because of the U.S. military role that the country held historic elections in March 2010, giving Iraq “the opportunity for a sovereign future,” the general said. And, he added, violence is at an eight-year low.

Helmick said his beliefs are underscored by the positive comments of some wounded warriors and family members of the fallen, which totals more than 4,500 U.S. service members.
“My firm belief is that there is no other military in the world that can do what yours did in Iraq,” he said. “For eight years, they have been building and securing this country.”

U.S. troops’ greatest legacy in Iraq, Helmick said, is in the professionalism, confidence and esprit de corps of the Iraqi security forces.
“We gave 28 million Iraqis the greatest gift anyone can give and that is their freedom,” he said.
Helmick marked the historic occasion by calling the veterans of Iraq operations the next “Greatest Generation,” a reference to those who served in World War II.
“The significance of this day doesn’t escape me,” the general said on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For their service in Iraq, he said, “America discovered the next greatest generation.”
“Words cannot begin to express the pride I feel about America’s military performance and service in Iraq,” he added.
The 18-month process of drawing down forces in Iraq “is simply historic,” going from 300,000 service members and more than 5,000 installations in 2007 to 8,000 troops and five bases today, Helmick said. Military drivers have logged 16 million miles, “moving a mountain of equipment and personnel,” mostly through southern Iraq and into Kuwait, and have fewer than 1,000 truckloads left, he said.
U.S. forces built the Iraqi security forces to more than 700,000, trained them, and left them with “some of the best [equipment] we have,” including the M1 Abrams tank and artillery equipment, the general said. U.S. forces also were in charge of the country’s security until 2010 when Iraqi forces took the lead.
Every piece of U.S. military equipment “goes through an agonizing process” of determining whether it should be shipped out of the country or left for the Iraqis, Helmick said. The U.S. military has incurred significant savings in transportation costs by leaving equipment, namely office furniture, in Iraq, he said.
Iraq still has challenges, Helmick said, including continued threats from al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, Iranian meddling, and internal ethnic tensions.
Iraq has made good progress on police work, the general said, and is capable of securing the country internally, if not externally. “The Iraqis understand they have a security gap if someone comes into their air space who doesn’t want to be seen,” he said.
Whether or not the Iraqis choose a future U.S. military role in security is up to them, the general said.
“The sense I get from the Iraqis is that they want to have a strong relationship with our country,” he said.
Asked about the military’s “lessons learned” in Iraq, Helmick said, “We performed, really, beyond expectations.”
Early on, the general said, service members in Iraq had to do things they weren’t necessarily trained to do. They weren’t very good at advising Iraqi farmers on wheat crops, “but we did that,” or in helping with the oil refinery and distribution processes, “but we did that,” he said.
“The military had to branch out through all the different portions of the government sector because, at that time, there was no one to pass the ball off to,” Helmick said.
U.S. operations in Iraq later became the example of how best to synchronize military and civilian actions, Helmick said. Americans serving in Iraq learned about the country’s culture and enabled the Iraqis to create a system of security and governance for themselves, he said, rather than a template of how things are done in the United States.
As for Iraq’s future security, Helmick said, “We really don’t know what is going to happen, but we know we’ve done everything we can for the Iraqi security forces.”



Defense.gov News Article: General Calls Iraq Operations

 

Totally agree with you Urgh. But it is now their mess and not as much ours. We've given them the chance, what they do with it is up to them. I'm sympathetic to how things are but again, it is their culture. Every country that follows Sharia (with few exceptions) treats the female population the same.

[h=3]Panetta, Dempsey to Mark End of Iraq Mission[/h] By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Dec. 15, 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta arrived here today to join Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in ceremonies marking the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq.
The secretary and chairman, along with Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Forces Iraq, and Ambassador James Jeffrey, will lead the U.S. delegation at the ceremony.
“This will be an historic moment where we basically enter a new chapter in Iraq in which we deal with them in a way that represents the kind of normal relationship we have with other countries” in the region, Panetta told reporters traveling here with him.
The secretary, who arrived here after visits to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan, will join U.S. and Afghan officials in highlighting the successes made here and the service and sacrifice over the past eight years that has made it possible.
As they encase the U.S. Forces Iraq colors and officially bring the mission here to an end, Panetta said the United States will forge the next phase of a long-term relationship with Iraq.
The ceremony will signal that “this is not the end,” a senior defense official traveling with Panetta said. “We are changing the nature of our relationship with Iraq, but … [will send a signal of] our commitment to continuing this strategic partnership with them.”
The secretary is also scheduled to meet with about 80 of the 5,500 U.S. troops still in Iraq as the last days of the drawdown continue through Dec. 31 to thank them personally for their contributions.
This is down from 144,000 troops who were on the ground when President Barack Obama took office.

Panetta noted the Herculean effort that has transferred hundreds of bases and infrastructure to the Iraqis and removed thousands of troops and millions of pieces of equipment from Iraq.