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Last U.S. Troops Leave Iraq 8 Years After Start of War

Last troops crossed into Kuwait Sunday morning.

 

The last U.S. soldiers rolled across the border into Kuwait Sunday morning officially ending the eight-year war in Iraq.

The last troops left Contingency Operating Base Adder in the early morning on Saturday, according to the Washington Post. About 100 of the last armored vehicles rolled along an empty stretch of highway to the Kuwaiti border from dusk through the break of day, according to Reuters.

Sgt. First Class Rodolfo Ruiz said he couldn't wait to call his wife and kids to let them know he was safe.

As the last troops crossed into Kuwait, they celebrated by honking horns on the transport vehicles they were in, according to Reuters.

In 2009, President Barack Obama called for the withdrawal of 90,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2010, according to a 2009 USA Today article. Troops leaving Saturday and Sunday were responsible for training Iraqi troops and police to maintain the country when the United States pulled out. The U.S. will still have a presence in Iraq, as the country will be home to largest American embassy in the world, according to the New York Times.

Of the 16,000 Americans who will be in Iraq after the military pullout, most of them contractors, less than 200 of them will be military personnel, according to the New York Times. The cost of the war in Iraq, according to the Washington Post, is more than $1 trillion and more than 4,400 soldiers were killed in eight years of fighting.

  • What are your thoughts on the war in Iraq?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • The United States should have never been there.
        10 (22%)
    • The United States should have been out years ago.
        4 (9%)
    • This was the right time to pull out.
        9 (20%)
    • We're leaving before the job is done.
        21 (47%)
    Total votes: 44
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!

Patchless In Vienna

5:08 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011

You ought to define this poll in your intro as having some relation to Vienna Patch subscribers. I trust that you will publish a follow-up to this effort that ties it in.

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Kim

6:06 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011

Patch readers have opinions about a lot of things: local, national and international. I'm sure many readers have been affected by the war in Iraq and appreciate reading about it.

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Andre L. Taylor

9:56 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011

Hi Patchless, this poll is not specific to Vienna, it's open to everyone. :)

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