American troops have served in Iraq with honor and distinction since March 19, 2003, but the cost to our nation has been great. December 2011 marks the end of our mission in Iraq, and the fulfillment of a promise Barack Obama made to the American people even before he became President. Now, President Obama has made another promise to the troops and their families: We will fight as hard for them as they return home as they have done for us these past nine years.
It’s a year and a half since Obama said combat operations were over, and this month combat troops will be finally out of Iraq. I wonder what they were doing since last August? Of course, if you remember, our “Mission” was “Accomplished” back in 2003 when President George W. Bush spoke on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with the sign, “Mission Accomplished,” behind him. At the time, American casualties were 139 killed and 542 wounded. Now, as the last U.S. troops are expected to withdraw from Iraq, a war estimated to have cost $800 billion (costofwar.com). More than 4,000 Americans were killed in Iraq and 32,000 wounded and there were over 100,000 Iraqi deaths, including civilians.
The Vance County Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners will conduct a tour of the new multipurpose room son Thursday morning. The group will visit E.M. Rollins Elementary, L.B. Yancey Elementary and New Hope Elementary.
Welcome to the Wednesday Open Lines!