Hey, Anyone Remember Iraq? US Forces Are Officially Pulling Out Of Cities Today

Today is major milestone in the battle for Iraq and not too many people seem to notice or care. At least that's the case here in the US. Understandably, Iraqis are pretty excited.

Iraqi government TV has been playing patriotic music to celebrate the U.S. military withdrawal from cities, towns and villages across the country, officially set to be completed by Tuesday June 30th.
Iraqi military vehicles were also covered with flowers to celebrate the event, and military parades, complete with band music, were organized in Diyala and Diwania provinces.
The government declared a "Day of National Sovereignty" to mark the event, and has invited ordinary citizens to join evening celebrations at Baghdad's Zawra Park for a festival of music and poetry.
Interior Minister Jawad Boulani told journalists the U.S. withdrawal is almost complete and Iraqi forces are capable of maintaining order across the country.
He says he believes Iraq's security situation is under control. "I do not think we need to declare a curfew," he insisted.

There's been an uptick in bombings, some causing substantial Iraqi casualties but that's not going to impact implementation of the security handover agreement. From the safety of my desk, I'd say that's the right thing. Any transition point is going to be an opportunity for the deadenders to do their thing (kill and maim) no matter when it happens. We all knew at some point the Iraqis were going to have to take on this responsibility. According to General Odierno, the Iraqis are ready and now is the moment.

In fact, the transfer has already taken place ahead of schedule.

"It's time for this partnership to have an Iraqi lead, it's time for this partnership to have the Iraqis out in front."
Odierno said U.S. troops still will be training and advising Iraqi forces and Americans will be conducting operations outside Iraqi cities after the deadline. U.S. forces are expected to withdraw from the country by the end of 2010 as part of a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement.

People always asked what victory in Iraq would look like, well this is another piece of that image. Two and half years ago a lot of people wanted to give up on Iraq and this kind of progress was thought impossible by many if not most. Yet, here it is.

We should never forget the hundreds of thousands of Americans who left their homes to remove a dangerous regime and then fight a bloody minded insurgency led by terrorists. Tens of thousands of them were wounded and to date, over 4,200 died in this effort.

Good luck to the people of Iraq, hopefully they will build a nation worthy of and their and America's sacrifices.

Posted by: DrewM. at 01:09 PM

Comments

The Iraq War is lost!

Sincerely,

Harry "the Hat" Reid

Posted by: nikkolai at June 29, 2009 01:12 PM (4EBUu)

2 This is what victory looks like; that's why the MSM is ignoring it.

Posted by: joncelli at June 29, 2009 01:13 PM (RD7QR)

3 QUAGMIRE!!!1111!!!

Posted by: Idiot leftist at June 29, 2009 01:14 PM (/plA7)

4 See, I told you the Iraq War was lost! We're running away!

Posted by: Harry Reid at June 29, 2009 01:15 PM (tcMQZ)

5 Its still not too late to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

Posted by: Purple Avenger at June 29, 2009 01:16 PM (KvnvW)

6 And, naturally, President Toy Boy is going to get the credit for it, even though this agreement was worked out long before he took office.

Posted by: Beppo at June 29, 2009 01:16 PM (Ka5Jh)

7 Today is major milestone in the battle for Iraq and not too many people seem to notice or care.

Don't worry, there are plenty of people who notice and care both here and more importantly in Iraq.

Posted by: Rocks at June 29, 2009 01:17 PM (Q1lie)

Well done.

Something else to be so VERY proud of.

Posted by: irongrampa at June 29, 2009 01:17 PM (ud5dN)

May God Bless George W. Bush.

He stood up for freedom and democracy when others turned a blind eye.

Wonder how different the Iranian uprising would have been if he were still in office.

May God also protect the free Iraqis.

Posted by: momma at June 29, 2009 01:18 PM (penCf)

10 I think it influenced a few people in Iran too.

Posted by: Rocks at June 29, 2009 01:18 PM (Q1lie)

11 But is MJ still dead?

Posted by: Vic at June 29, 2009 01:21 PM (5ynkO)

I hope Iraqis never forget that the American soldier spilled a lot of blood, and lost a lot of dreams, to insure that they would be a free people. So too, did their loved ones.

Everytime they see their children going to the market, school, playground, I hope they remember that their are a lot of children in America that will go to bed tonight without having their mom or dad tuck them in. These children will only be comforted by the thought that their mom or dad is a hero.

To all of our soldiers, thank you.

Posted by: momma at June 29, 2009 01:22 PM (penCf)

But is MJ still dead?

Michael Jordan died? Holy crap!!!

Posted by: Tim at June 29, 2009 01:24 PM (3Wewy)

It is official: Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, on Monday approved the result of the country's disputed June 12 election, confirming incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president.

http://tinyurl.com/m46xac

h/t Weasel Zippers

Posted by: momma at June 29, 2009 01:28 PM (penCf)

15 Chalk one up for "A New Tone"�!!!!111!!! YAY OBAMA!! 52 rulz!

Posted by: Idiot leftist at June 29, 2009 01:28 PM (/plA7)

If all those guys are dead too, why isn't there anyone else here?

This being dead stuff is getting old.

Posted by: Michael Jackson at June 29, 2009 01:28 PM (5V/kc)

17 The soldiers, diplomats, and other helpers who have brought Iraq to this place should be regarded as not just American heroes, but Iraqi heroes. God bless Iraq.

Posted by: Dr. Manhattan at June 29, 2009 01:28 PM (OkrJ4)

So many of Janet's "potential terrorists" are going to be coming home.

We other "extremists" welcome them back.

Posted by: Scott J. at June 29, 2009 01:29 PM (/bVuS)

Well said, Drew.

God bless our armed forces.

I remember when the Iraq invasion began in 2003, and the press was discussing the vaunted Repubican Guard and predicting we would need tens of thousands of body bags for our troops.

4,200 dead and the thousands wounded are horrible, absolutely no question.

But I wonder, what if we knew then what we know now - taking the political factor out of the equation - that this cost would have to be paid and that it would take approximately six years for this to happen?

No terrorist attacks on US soil. Saddam and his sons deposed and gone (Saddam as a result of a legal proceeding overseen by the Iraqi people). A duly elected government by the Iraqi people. The Iraqi's taking over security in their country.

I remember thinking at the time we could be in for a minimum commitment of 3-5 years, more likely 8-10, and I thought it could cost the lives of 5-10,000 members of our armed forces, possibly more.

A heartfelt thanks again to our military and their commitment in the face of a shameful lack of support and undermining by many of their countrymen, the cost of whose committment was far, far less.

Posted by: RM at June 29, 2009 01:35 PM (GkYyh)

20 Just wait until Axelrod figures out how to spin "Obama simply inherited the Bush recession" while avoiding "Obama simply inherited the Bush victory."

Posted by: wooga at June 29, 2009 01:35 PM (2p0e3)

21 How does this tie into Michael Jackson?

Posted by: MSM at June 29, 2009 01:37 PM (HAib+)

22 while avoiding "Obama simply inherited the Bush victory."

I expect relative silence out of the Obama administration.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at June 29, 2009 01:46 PM (KvnvW)

23 Maybe the "lessons" of Vietnam weren't so clear cut after all, sometimes insurgencies can be beaten?

Posted by: steve h. at June 29, 2009 01:46 PM (MDkjt)

I won!

Posted by: Barack Obama at June 29, 2009 01:46 PM (tcMQZ)

25 God bless our troops and the families that produced such fine servicemen and women. This is awesome news, and I am so happy for the Iraqi people. Let's hope the movement spreads!

Posted by: Adlib at June 29, 2009 01:49 PM (k/CNO)

Maybe the "lessons" of Vietnam weren't so clear cut after all, sometimes insurgencies can be beaten?

They were beaten before. Our f*cked up gov't and lefties just chose to ignore it and call it a loss.

Posted by: momma at June 29, 2009 01:50 PM (penCf)

27 But.. but..but...

Wait a minute here.... We're pulling our troops out?

Bu, according to each and every idiot leftist, the plan was that we take and hold Iraq to steal all of their oil!!

They couldn't have been wrong this whole time, could they have?

Posted by: wiserbud at June 29, 2009 01:51 PM (EW49d)

28 Iraq was the first country to offer warmest congratulations to after the Iranian election. Iraq is proclaiming this as a victory over the occupation. BUT THE SURGE WORKED !!!

Posted by: John ryan at June 29, 2009 01:51 PM (CJO46)

29 Hey, Anyone Remember Iraq?
Yep. Lots of us still have family serving there.

Posted by: mama winger at June 29, 2009 01:58 PM (eTkwe)

30 Just laying the groundwork for the day when they can say, "See? We told you it would never work!"

Posted by: t-bird at June 29, 2009 02:00 PM (FcR7P)

31 Leftists do not wish for people to have freedom. Including us.

"Leftists" includes the President and his crew.

Posted by: Alana at June 29, 2009 02:00 PM (JE2zV)

God bless our soldiers. This news should take over the headlines from Mr. Jackson but I don't think that will happen.

When will the MSM start talking about the "quagmire" in Ahfganistan? Oh, that's right, they won't be cause that war currently belongs to the O.

However I am sure that if it starts to go badly that it will be all Bush's fault for starting the war in the first place.

I hope Iraq will stay free.

Posted by: hippieforlife at June 29, 2009 02:05 PM (v3pYe)

33 :salute:

Posted by: trailortrash at June 29, 2009 02:07 PM (pseS/)

34 This obviously is Bush's fault.

Oh...a good thing, nevermind, nothing to see here. Move along.

Posted by: The State-Run Media at June 29, 2009 02:18 PM (1hM1d)

35 Mission Accomplished. Again.

How's my ass taste, Harry, Nancy, Hillary, Barack, NYTimes, alphabet networks, liberal press (BIRM), et al.?

Posted by: George W. Bush, Liberator at June 29, 2009 02:22 PM (rZ235)

My local lib-rag has carefully worded every headline about Iraq today to imply that this is Obama making good on his promise to "withdraw the troops". There is no mention of the fact that the withdrawal is from the urban areas only, or that this plan was in place prior to Obama, until you get down into the text of the article. The headlines might as well read "See? Obama comes through for the troops!"

What kind of people, that supposedly are dedicated to the informing of the public, indulge in such cheap tricks? Can you imagine what they must assume about the sophistication of their readers, if they think such things fool them?

Posted by: sherlock at June 29, 2009 02:32 PM (L4jPh)

37 First!

Posted by: joe biden at June 29, 2009 02:51 PM (8PGHt)

Thank goodness these savage bloodthirsty killers are being removed from the Iraqi cities.

Except for the good people at Kuchera Defense Systems!

Posted by: Jack Murtha at June 29, 2009 03:06 PM (pfStM)

39 Our troops will have 4 to 8 years to rest up before a president with balls comes along and sends them out to kick Iran's and Nork's asses.

Posted by: Crusty at June 29, 2009 03:08 PM (GvSpB)

40 @27 wiserbud: I told my lefty Norwegian friends that we built a secret pipeline with a side outlet to Israel and we give them a little squirt every now and then. They want to believe it. In fairness, most of the scandi trash I know are further right than us. We're all oil field guys and traveling to oil rich hellholes will open your eyes.

Posted by: DaveDave at June 29, 2009 03:17 PM (i5rMv)

41 What if we won a war and nobody cared?

Posted by: emily litella at June 29, 2009 03:35 PM (PGXeZ)

42 The media is playing up how the Iraqis are cheering our forces leaving. Not much on what we accomplished there. Lying SOBs everyone of them. Members of the media I mean.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at June 29, 2009 04:47 PM (1Jaio)

43
God bless our soldiers.

At one time I feared Obama would fuck up in Iraq but he's really just followed the path laid out by Bush. It's good that so far Obama has voted present on Iraq.

If that sounds like I'm saying something nice about Obama, I didn't mean it to.

Posted by: klrtz1 at June 29, 2009 06:11 PM (FrJGs)

It is a sign of significant progress that this is happening. Let's hope Obama doesn't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Posted by: BattleofthePyramids at June 29, 2009 06:16 PM (vD0EH)

45 I had some of the best times of my life over there. I wish more of my buddies were alive to see it.

Posted by: SGT Dan at June 29, 2009 08:09 PM (Wcgzm)

Good luck to the people of Iraq, hopefully they will build a nation worthy of their and America's sacrifices.

Well said, Drew.

I'm thrilled for the Iraqis and I'm thrilled for us. I hope to visit some day. God bless our troops and God bless President Bush.

Posted by: SukieTawdry at June 29, 2009 08:49 PM (7WUCp)

As an Iraq war vet, I'm glad we eliminated a megalomaniac and the subsequent terrorist threat from their country. The Iraqis now have a chance to get their shit together and build on the freedom we fought for. As for Maliki's comments on "occupiers": the Imperialist Japs, fascist Italians, and Nazi Germans didn't like our "occupation" post WWII either. Tough shit. They made out pretty good. We rebuilt their countries, pumped in millions of dollars for their infrastractures, and their economies flourished thanks to GIs stationed there.

The Iraqis have been left with a winning hand. It's theirs to fuck up or use wisely. The choice is now theirs.

Posted by: SFC MAC at June 30, 2009 06:59 AM (dX8Ae)

If this doesn't trun into another Viet Nam I do not know what will do it. Rember Nam??? We pull all the suportting money away then the troops, valaw, HUGE VACUUME, sucks in al the commies from miles around, takes over the WHOLE country in two years. All that time, all that human loss on OUR side, all that equipment that was left by us and all the nam people being picked up by the various helicopters to bring to the various aircrat carriers that were posted off shore. What a wast of a war it was, where we COULD have had UNconditional VICTORY, if gumament had not be listing to the various BBFNT that were causing all the HATE and DISCONTENT, during this time.

So here we are again, listing to the SAME various BBFNT getting us out of Iraq, before its time. Here come the sucking of all the bad guys and girls coming into the vacuume of political stupitdy and a yellow streak a mile wide and a light year long by this BBFNT barry s and all his but fucking buddies. And us with out our Vasiline. This is going to turn out to be VERY BAD. This is what I predict. Heltau

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