US officially wraps up with war in Iraq
U.S. declares official end to the Iraq war, formally wrapping up the U.S. military’s 81 / 2-year mission in the country, “France Press” informs.
“After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said at a ceremony at Baghdad‘s international airport. “To be sure, the cost was high – in blood and treasure for the United States, and for the Iraqi people. Those lives were not lost in vain. ”
The ceremony effectively ended the war two weeks earlier than was necessary under the terms of the security agreement signed by the U.S. and Iraqi governments in 2008, which stipulated that the troops must be gone by Dec. 31.