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Operation Iraqi Freedom closes.


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The 4th Stryker Brigade left Indian Country this morning,essentially ending combat operations in Iraq. 50,000 troops will remain for 'support' and 'training' duties until next year.

To all those who served, Thank You :cheers::thumbsup: !

To all those who served and made the sacrifice, Thank You :) :pray: !

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The 4th Stryker Brigade left Indian Country this morning,essentially ending combat operations in Iraq. 50,000 troops will remain for 'support' and 'training' duties until next year.

To all those who served, Thank You :cheers::thumbsup: !

To all those who served and made the sacrifice, Thank You :) :pray: !

Another BIG mistake. We SHOULD NOT BE LEAVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Well there are still 50000 troops there... Including seven full-up BCTs and two full CAB. Forces which bigger and more powerful than most other armies on this planet. This is all just theatre...

Edited by Rapier01
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Another BIG mistake. We SHOULD NOT BE LEAVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many would say they shouldn't have been there in the first place. Just sayin'.

That aside, it doesn't change the facts of the matter, so my respect goes to all those who served and did their duty well, and continue to do so, in what looks like a difficult and thankless job and place.

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I do have a question on this...does this mean the AF and Navy are gone too? As in Close Air Support? Or does Balad still have fighters/bombers there?

The USAF is still there and will remain so for a long time. As I mentioned before, there are also two Army combat aviation brigades that remain in Iraq. As the Iraqis have no real air power to speak of, they are nearly completely dependent upon us for CAS and ISR- so the USAF at least, will be there for a very long time.

Edited by Rapier01
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I do have a question on this...does this mean the AF and Navy are gone too? As in Close Air Support? Or does Balad still have fighters/bombers there?

Aaron

The AF will continue to have a presence there for many years to come. Just as we did after the last hostilities were considered over in 1991. 20 years and counting.

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Another BIG mistake. We SHOULD NOT BE LEAVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe so, but theres no money. We are literally out of money short of a few more swipes of the chinese credit card under current tax and budgetary policiy without major cuts in spending elsewhere or tax increases. If times were good, I could foresee trying a few more years and see what sticks but I dont want to rack up anymore debt than we already have fighting 2 wars since Im a deficit hawk.

btw, without counting the war on terror, we currently spend $3500 per person inside our borders (including illegals) to defend them. If you ask me, were not getting much bang for the buck for winning unconventional wars. *Id be curious to see how much each taxpayer is being asked to spend for the defense of everyone*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PerCapit...nseSpending.PNG

Edited by Superjew
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btw, without counting the war on terror, we currently spend $3500 per person inside our borders (including illegals) to defend them. If you ask me, were not getting much bang for the buck for winning unconventional wars. *Id be curious to see how much each taxpayer is being asked to spend for the defense of everyone*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PerCapit...nseSpending.PNG

BTW, we are spending much more than that on domestic social welfare programs and I would suggest that we are getting much less bang for the buck with that money. Anyway, I thought this thread was about the redeployment of the last US ground combat unit from Iraq. For those guys/gals - thank you for your service and sacrifice, have a safe trip home.

John

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And now we sit back, watch, eat popcorn, as Iraq implodes into quasi-civil-war, or gets taken over by the next warlord to get taliban backing?

No, no politics about it, just basic warfare... You create the vacuum and it will get filled. We've created the largest power vacuum in all of history, methinks, and it will be talked about in history books (politically or tactically) for centuries to come.

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I'm glad that we have less troops in the line of fire, whether or not we should be there I'm not qualified to say. I have my opinions, but they will remain with me. If it was theatre it was a shot of adrenaline for the American citizens. For those who served in the ITO....my utmost respect, support, and gratitude B) .

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To ALL those that Served and are still there THANK YOU...

To all those that are making the Sacrifice even now THANK YOU.. B)

and to MY friend who has just gone there ,{IRAQ}, you know who you ARE, A BIG THANK YOU and take care and BE SAFE..

Thinking of you MY friend.. :whistle:

HOLMES :tumble::salute:

Edited by HOLMES
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56,000 armed soldiers still there, plus countless Blackwater-style mercenaries. This retreat of "combat forces" (as opposed to the other armed soldiers there, I guess) is nothing more than the only thing Washington and New York seem genuinely good at producing these days - massive accounting fraud.

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If you ask me, were not getting much bang for the buck for winning unconventional wars.

Winning? What wars are you talking about? Don't worry, you're not getting any bucks from this war! Only the defense contractors are!

Edited by sharkey
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The 4th Stryker Brigade left Indian Country this morning,essentially ending combat operations in Iraq. 50,000 troops will remain for 'support' and 'training' duties until next year.

isn't a withdrawl when nobody remains ???

bull**** for the media !!

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And now we sit back, watch, eat popcorn, as Iraq implodes into quasi-civil-war, or gets taken over by the next warlord to get taliban backing?

No, no politics about it, just basic warfare... You create the vacuum and it will get filled. We've created the largest power vacuum in all of history, methinks, and it will be talked about in history books (politically or tactically) for centuries to come.

exactly !!!! as soon as the troops do actualy genuinely withdraw , say it was monday

it would be business as usual by tuesday !!

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Thank you folks for your service! You had your hands tied behind your backs by the political leaders of our nation, but you still managed to achieve something for the Iraqi people that they have never had, control of their destiny! It is up to them now, to decide how "free" Iraq will be and handle the threats to their freedom, both internal and external.

A job well done considering what you've gone through. You come home with honor and dignity! Thank you once again for your service and sacrifice. God Bless you all! :coolio:

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What part of "NO POLITICS" are some of you failing to grasp?

The thread was meant to honor those who have served and those who have lost their lives there, not for you to grace us with your political views.

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BTW, we are spending much more than that on domestic social welfare programs and I would suggest that we are getting much less bang for the buck with that money. Anyway, I thought this thread was about the redeployment of the last US ground combat unit from Iraq. For those guys/gals - thank you for your service and sacrifice, have a safe trip home.

John

According to Moody's economy (I last saw the fact on Rachael Maddow) we get a lot more bang for the buck from say, unemployment insurance, than we do say, tax cuts for the wealthy. $1.02 for every dollar cut in taxes in economic activity, as opposed to $1.61 for every dollar given to unemployment insurance.

Military spending is non-obligatory compared to a lot of the social programs like SCHIP, Medicare and Social Securityprograms since they dont collect a tax from our paychecks for the DoD budget, and quite frankly, I would not care to spend $3500 a year or more since Im a tax payer, from my own money to buy more F22's. We could halve our military budget and still outspend China $2.50 to $1 or Russia $5-1.

Like I said, Im a deficit hawk and Im looking to cut non-obligatory spending.

Look over the 2009 federal budget to see whats eating up all the tax dollars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_S..._federal_budget

Edited by Superjew
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Doesn't the IAF have some planes? I know they had c172s for training and observation but I also thought there were f16s on order?

Probably still a ways out from those. Learning curve, expense and all that. Curious to see Iraqi Order of Battle though, Not just air assets. Upgraded eastern stuff or new western stuff? Probably a mix of both. I know they will have C-130s because everyone does!!

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They are also currently being trained using T-6's. They for sure have had one class run through the program and currently in the middle of another. Pretty cool looking seeing the T-6 in grey and grey paint. Purty little plane.

Bill

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Doesn't the IAF have some planes? I know they had c172s for training and observation but I also thought there were f16s on order?

Yes, they do have some Caravans that were based up north a bit. Used to routinely conduct touch and go's at Q-West. Hell, while stuck seven days while we were trying to leave theater, the little booger actually directed a C-17 onto the approach as visibility was down to less than 1/2 mile.

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