Today, or tonight I should say, marks the end of the Iraq War. It’s been a long battle with over 4,400 dead and many more wounded during the course of this war. Tonight, it all ends. Obama is set to leave 50,000 troops in Iraq but as of 5 PM today, he is turning over the country to the Iraqis.
It should be mentioned, however, that war as a whole is not over. Only the Iraq War. There is still Afghanistan.
Even as he turns control of the war over to the Iraqis — and tries to cap one of the most divisive chapters in recent American history — Obama is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan. He said that winding down Iraq would allow the United States “to apply the resources necessary to go on offense” in Afghanistan, now the nation’s longest war since Vietnam.
At the end of the day, a war that has left a country so divided is now declared over. Welcome back troops.
You can view the entire speech here.
Video courtesy of Yahoo via ABC News. For more, visit ABC News.