Last U.S. Combat Troops Leave Iraq

The last convoy of American troops left Iraq Sunday morning, driving across the Iraq-Kuwait border marking the end of the nearly nine year war. The final troops completed a difficult logistical challenge of shutting down hundreds of military bases, and ensuring that 50,000 U.S. soldiers and their equipment made it out of Iraq. At the height of the war, more 170,000 troops were stationed in Iraq as only 150 will remain to assist a training and cooperation mission attached to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

President Barack Obama congratulated the troops who served and welcomed them home, he noted that “this is an extraordinary achievement – one made possible by the hard work and sacrifice of the men and women who had the courage to serve.” However, many Iraqis are concerned and nervous about their future, as their country is in a political stalemate. Even though Obama assured Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that the U.S. would remain committed to stability in Iraq, Al-Jazeera notes that “some criticised the Americans for leaving behind a destroyed country with thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and without rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.”