• Obama Praises Troops as He Ends the War He Opposed
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[quote]FORT BRAGG, N.C. — President Obama observed the end of the war in Iraq on Wednesday before an audience of those who fought in it, telling a crowd of returning war veterans that the nine years of conflict in Iraq, a war now indelibly imprinted on the national psyche, had come to a close.“As your commander in chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I’m proud to finally say these two words,” Mr. Obama told a crowded hangar at this famed North Carolina army base that is home to the 82nd Airborne: “Welcome home.” Calling it a “historic moment,” Mr. Obama, who has over the three years of his presidency had his ups and down with his own military leaders, if not the enlisted men and women, infused his remarks with far more shout-outs for the military than the usual few that he dispenses to local politicians at the beginning of most of his standard speeches. This time, he thanked the “legendary” 82nd Airborne. He thanked senior enlisted leaders. And the Sky Dragons of the 18th Airborne Corps. And the Special Operations Forces. And military families. In fact, the president wrapped himself in all of the storied patriotism and history of the country’s armed forces, congratulating the assembled troops for the job they did in Iraq — a war which he himself, never approved. It was a tough balance to strike; Mr. Obama had to speak of legendary battles in places like Fallujah without referencing the weapons of mass destruction that were never found; he noted the sectarian violence without bringing up the years of fear that gripped both the United States and the rest of the world back in 2004, 2005, and 2006, when it looked as if the American invasion of Iraq would engulf an already volatile region. “We remember the early days — the American units that streaked across the sands and skies of Iraq,” Mr. Obama said. “In battles from Nasiriyah to Karbala to Baghdad, American troops broke the back of a brutal dictator in less than a month.” And yet, Mr. Obama said, “we know too well the heavy costs” of the Iraq War: “Nearly 4,500 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice, including 202 fallen heroes from here at Fort Bragg. 202.” The speech was the latest in a series of public appearances orchestrated by the White House to signal the end of the conflict and to drive home the point that Mr. Obama fulfilled one of his 2008 presidential campaign promises. At times somber, at times ebullient — there were plenty of “Huahs” during his speech — the president tried to project an understanding of what the people who have seen their family members go off to fight a war which most Americans came to oppose, have been through. “There have been missed birthday parties and graduation,” Mr. Obama said. “There are bills to pay and jobs that have to be juggled with picking up the kids. For every soldier that goes on patrol, there are the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters praying that they come back.” Mr. Obama made the trip to Fort Bragg — his first since taking office — as both the commander in chief who has brought soldiers home and as a presidential candidate. Mr. Obama’s campaign advisers see North Carolina, a traditionally red state which Mr. Obama unexpectedly won in 2008, as a key to the president’s re-election path. But Fort Bragg and neighboring Fayetteville, with its large African-American population full of veterans of both Iraq and Afghanistan, will need to join urban areas like Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham in turning out for Mr. Obama if the president is to have a chance of repeating that unlikely win next year. On Tuesday, Jim Messina, Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, presented reporters with a slide show mapping out several Obama pathways to victory next year. One key path, he said, included winning North Carolina and Virginia — both states that John Kerry lost in 2004, but Mr. Obama won in 2008. Already, the Obama campaign has opened up operations in North Carolina, and is banking on the state’s changed demographics, including an influx of young, college-educated people. The Obama campaign is also hoping for high turnout among African Americans, who make up 22 percent of the state’s population, and 41 percent of the Fayetteville population. Charlotte, North Carolina will host the Democratic National Convention next September. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has already taken out television ads here in North Carolina, including one that ran this week, targeting Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy. Mr. Obama has been working hard to get credit for ending the Iraq war, a promise that was a centerpiece of his 2008 campaign. But it remains to be seen whether his successful completion of his promise to end the war will have much resonance next year, as the country continues to struggle through the fragile economic recovery. Fort Bragg is home to a variety of troops, including the Army Special Operations, the 18th Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne. Fort Bragg soldiers have been in the thick of the fighting in the Iraqi theater from Day 1 of the American invasion in 2003. “For all of the challenges that our nation faces, you remind us that there’s nothing that we Americans can’t do when we stick together,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s why the United States military is the most respected institution in our land. It’s why you, the 9/11 generation, have earned your place in history.” He concluded with “I am proud of you.”[/quote] Source:[URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/us/at-fort-bragg-obama-showers-praise-on-troops-back-from-iraq.html?_r=1[/URL] 8 years, 269 days. Long war. Although the war offically ends on Dec. 31st, most troops are expected to be back sooner.
Except I'm pretty sure he didn't end it (it was either Iraq or Afghanistan or both). When Bush decided we were going they set in stone that we would be out before 2012, Obama is just acting on it. As liberal as I am and as much as I like Obama you can't give him credit for ending it.
Can't wait to see what the republicans have to say about this.
Let's hope Iraq will have a bright and prosperous future. Surely with their oil stocks they'll be able to rebuild their economy and be quite a big player in the region.
Feels kinda surreal hearing about this, I have pretty much grown up with these wars in the backdrop, constantly having them in the back of your mind and on the news. And now, it's over.. well, glad to see that it finally ended.
[QUOTE=JustGman;33720886]Can't wait to see what the republicans have to say about this.[/QUOTE] Bush was the one who set this date iirc.
[QUOTE=thrawn2787;33720874]Except I'm pretty sure he didn't end it (it was either Iraq or Afghanistan or both). When Bush decided we were going they set in stone that we would be out before 2012, Obama is just acting on it. As liberal as I am and as much as I like Obama you can't give him credit for ending it.[/QUOTE] no it was clearly obana's merit he got a nobel prize for it even before he did it :downs:
Welcome home! And now off to Afghanistan with you. Mmm I love being entrenched in perpetual combat with unconquerable nations.
Hopefully they will be cutting some of the defense budget now.
[QUOTE=Pepsi-cola;33720940]Hopefully they will be cutting some of the defense budget now.[/QUOTE] That's a funny joke. [editline]14th December 2011[/editline] They'll just find something else to waste it on.
I wonder what it will be like when all of our "operations" are over, will we finally be able to simply focus on ourselves? Will we have the same progression we had in the Clinton era?
[QUOTE=thrawn2787;33720874]Except I'm pretty sure he didn't end it (it was either Iraq or Afghanistan or both). When Bush decided we were going they set in stone that we would be out before 2012, Obama is just acting on it. As liberal as I am and as much as I like Obama you can't give him credit for ending it.[/QUOTE] Military advisers wanted to extend combat operations, which ended in August, into next year. Obama decided to end them sooner.
[QUOTE=The fox;33720895]Feels kinda surreal hearing about this, I have pretty much grown up with these wars in the backdrop, constantly having them in the back of your mind and on the news. And now, it's over.. well, glad to see that it finally ended.[/QUOTE] It sure as hell isn't over. US troops may be withdrawing, but the problems will still exist.
Eventually the defense budget will go down. It'll still take a lot of time, though. Probably when something more important like space travel becomes cheap and viable enough that the government sees that they could put all of their money from defense into spehss programs.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;33720983]I wonder what it will be like when all of our "operations" are over, will we finally be able to simply focus on ourselves? Will we have the same progression we had in the Clinton era?[/QUOTE] Iran
I can't help but think of the Vietnam war, all these soldiers coming back without some big kind of celebration.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;33720983]I wonder what it will be like when all of our "operations" are over, will we finally be able to simply focus on ourselves? Will we have the same progression we had in the Clinton era?[/QUOTE] Hahaha, you're funny. We both know the GOP would NEVER allow that to happen. :v:
[img]http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/images/1030-02.jpg[/img]
If only we were ending this mess, we are still hiring tons of contractors and whatnot to operate in the region. This war is far from over. [editline]14th December 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=ewitwins;33720983]I wonder what it will be like when all of our "operations" are over, will we finally be able to simply focus on ourselves? Will we have the same progression we had in the Clinton era?[/QUOTE] Clinton initiated more military operations than any other president :v: .
[QUOTE=DinoJesus;33721136]I can't help but think of the Vietnam war, all these soldiers coming back without some big kind of celebration.[/QUOTE] Don't forget all the negative jeers they got for being accused of a baby killer.
[QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;33721444]Don't forget all the negative jeers they got for being accused of a baby killer.[/QUOTE] My grandfathers house was firebombed when he returned from Vietnam... My mom's family was moved on too base afterwards because it wasn't the first thing... Sometimes it was pigblood/guts in the mail box, other times it was 'BABY KILLER' spray painted on the fence. People need to blame the government not the greens.
[QUOTE=Ultra Violence;33720912]Welcome home! And now off to Afghanistan with you. Mmm I love being entrenched in perpetual combat with unconquerable nations.[/QUOTE] That is exactly what they did to my brother. He left Iraq a year ago, spent a year home, and now he is going to Afghanistan, and now that the Iraq war is over, I know why they did that.
[QUOTE=DinoJesus;33721136]I can't help but think of the Vietnam war, all these soldiers coming back without some big kind of celebration.[/QUOTE] I can't help but get the sense that people want to just forget it and shuffle back to a better time. Of course, there are many people who won't be forgetting this war any time soon. Which I'm not sure is a good thing, or a bad thing.
Finally, one of the most blatantly fraudulent endeavors in the history of this country is coming to a (partial) close. I know we still have a huge number of mercenaries occupying the country, but at least those assholes want to be there, and won't be entirely exempt from justice. Too bad we can't bring back the hundreds of thousands of innocent people that were killed in the civil war we caused. IMO, every single one of those soldiers should be exempt from ever being sent overseas again. The worst thing we could possibly do is take someone who survived Bush's oil grab and send them to get blown up by IEDs in ANOTHER endless, bullshit war.
I'm pretty sure he's started plenty of other wars to make up for ending this one even if we don't know about them yet - he is a US president, after all. Its a shame all the teenage infatuation style worship of the guy was in vain.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;33721698]IMO, every single one of those soldiers should be exempt from ever being sent overseas again. The worst thing we could possibly do is take someone who survived Bush's oil grab and send them to get blown up by IEDs in ANOTHER endless, bullshit war.[/QUOTE] Why? It's what they signed up to do, it's their job.
i got to meet him today.
[QUOTE=OvB;33720897]Bush was the one who set this date iirc.[/QUOTE] They can't complain if they supported bush.
[QUOTE=OvB;33720962]That's a funny joke. [editline]14th December 2011[/editline] They'll just find something else to waste it on.[/QUOTE] "We are now going to focus our budget on the real war facing America - The war on drugs." [QUOTE=Lambeth;33722228]They can't complain if they supported bush.[/QUOTE] If they can blame Obama for shit they worked to fuck up then I'm sure they can find a way to complain about Obama pulling troops.
[QUOTE=myng;33721608]That is exactly what they did to my brother. He left Iraq a year ago, spent a year home, and now he is going to Afghanistan, and now that the Iraq war is over, I know why they did that.[/QUOTE] Sorry to hear that, that's shitty. But yeah, the reality of the situation is large amounts of our troops being redeployed in areas just as hazardous. It's unfortunate that people are buying into the garbage about "the war" being over--far from it. Our servicemen aren't even close to being out of the woods yet. And all to secure a democratic government in an area of the world that is extremely resistant to it... Our boys don't need to be dying in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan.
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