Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Nearly nine years after “Shock and Awe” began, 8 years , a month, a week and 2 days after President Bush declared “mission accomplished”, yesterday, the 15th of December 2011, American military operations came to a formal close in a quiet ceremony presided over by Secretary of Defense, Panetta at Baghdad Airport. By this weekend the few remaining troops will depart for home.

Before anything else is said, we the American people owe sincere and heartfelt thanks to the troops who did everything asked of them, and more. Whenever we have an opportunity, we should welcome home the newest veterans and thank them for their service.

We mourn for the fallen, and pray for the wounded that they and their families will be able to go on with their lives, and prosper. Finally, we must pledge, that we, the 99%, who did not directly participate in the war effort will never forget the wounded, their families, and especially the children of the fallen. Whatever it costs, we must keep in mind that it’s our deeds not our words that really count.

While emotions in some quarters may be too raw, it’s not too early to begin an assessment. In fact, it’s vital that we begin now, before memories dim, and all is forgotten to be replaced by national myths. We should start before we are inundated by even more books and papers justifying any number of positions about the Iraq war.

First, what were the costs?
4,500 service men and women paid the ultimate price.
32,000 wounded, which is probably an under count since we are still coming to grips with PTSD and head injuries.
Over 1,000 contractors killed in Iraq.
Over 26,000 contractors wounded.
How many Iraqis died? We really don’t know. Even modest estimates place the number in excess of 100,000 to over one million.
How many Iraqis were injured by the war? The numbers are all over the place, from a low of 42,000 to hundreds of thousands.
3 to 5 million Iraqis displaced in and outside of Iraq.
How many Iraq widows resulted from the war? Again estimates range as far as a million plus.
$800,000 billion plus dollars spent prosecuting the war. Add to this the ongoing care of egregiously wounded veterans now and in the future and the total comes to over $1 trillion dollars.

Of course, the formal end of military operations does not end our involvement in Iraq. We leave behind the largest embassy in the world. A massive edifice covering, they say, in excess of 100 acres, with a staff of over 12,000. How long will we maintain this massive complex with the huge staff? I have absolutely no idea. But here’s a hint, Iraq is 2nd behind Saudi Arabia in proven oil reserves, while some say that new exploration will likely push Iraq to number one in the world.

In the immediate aftermath of the Iraq War, we should answer 3 simple questions.
What did we achieve?

What lessons did we learn?

Who benefited the most by the Iraq war?

Gat6

Just a while ago, I also read an article connected with this sensational issue. Please allow me to share it. Check this out: Nine-year war with Iraq comes to an end.

Thursday, the nine-year-long United States conflict against Iraq officially came to an end. A quiet service was conducted in Baghdad to mark the event and almost all U.S. soldiers have already been sent home. However, both nations are left internally broken in the wake of the turmoil. Indeed, the Iraq War has left a mark on the nation that will not be easily discarded. For the majority, the conflict hasn’t really come to an end. Now, political divisions seem wider than ever, and social unrest continues to accrue.

I'm not entirely sure how janeluther posting from the philippines has any real insight into this story. eh - welcome aboard, I guess?

Haven;t heard a whole lot of Thank Yous coming from the SOB's or any offers to pay the freaking Billion + dollar price,tab it costs us plus the veterans medical costs over the next 60 or so years,,Also they're selling their oil rights to China thanks to 3 of our $hit for brains Senators! I still think if we;re gonna screw around there in that region to make it worth our wile and get some things up front.cash ,oil, assets .The hell with fighting their wars for them.

Let's call a spade a spade, shall we? The war was over 8 years ago. This has been an occupation. And what have we gotten for it? Jack and $hit. Thanks to all the veterans, I wish we had not gotten into Iraq and fixed Afghanistan and taken out OBL. We still haven't learned we aren't the World Police.