American troops lowered the flag of command that flew over Baghdad Thursday morning, rolled it, and placed it in a green and gray case, officially ending the controversial United States military mission in Iraq after nearly nine years. The understated ceremony under the bright Iraqi sun was the very opposite of the nighttime shock and awe bombardment of Baghdad that began the war against Saddam Hussein in March 2003. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew into Baghdad Thursday morning for the ceremony, where he vowed: "We do not forget the lessons of war. "Nor will we ever forget the sacrifices of the more than one million men and women of the United States armed forces who served in Iraq, and the sacrifices of their families," he said. Panetta paid tribute to the nearly 4500 Americans who were killed and more than 30000 who were wounded in Iraq, where an estimated one million Americans troops have served in the past eight-and-a-half years. Iraq Body Count, an independent public database, calculates more than 150000 Iraqis died between March 2003 and October 2010, the vast majority of them civilians. Panetta said the United States was "deeply indebted" to all Americans in uniform, and hailed the advances made in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by the invasion. And he said the day "is not about the United States. Rather, today is about Iraq. This is a time for Iraq to look forward." Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained in very <b>...</b>
Iraq US Ceremony
US forces end Iraq operation
newyork
20111
