The last US soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighbouring Kuwait at daybreak on Sunday, hooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover. The war cost nearly 4,500 Americans and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the US Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all — or whether the new Government the Americans leave behind will remain a steadfast US ally — is yet unanswered. The five hour drive by the last convoy of MRAPS, heavily armored personnel carriers, took place under cover of darkness and under strict secrecy to prevent any final attacks on the withdrawing troops. The 500 soldiers didn’t even tell heir Iraqi partners they were leaving before they slipped out of the last American base and started down he barren desert highway to the Kuwaiti border before dawn on Sunday. The atmosphere was subdued inside one of the vehicles as it streamed down the highway, with little visible in the blackness outside through the MRAP’s small windows. Along the road, a small group of Iraqi soldiers waved to the departing American troops. “My heart goes out to the Iraqis,” said Warrant Officer John Jewell, acknowledging the challenges ahead. “The innocent always pay the bill.” But after crossing the berm at the Kuwaiti border, it with floodlights and ringed with barbed wire, the troops from the 3rd brigade of the Army’s 1st avalry division were elated. They cheered, pumped fists in the air and gave each other chest bumps and bear ugs. “We’re on top of the world!” shouted one soldier from the turret of his vehicle. “It’s just an honor o be able to serve your country and say that you helped close out the war in Iraq,” said Spc. Jesse Jones, 23-year-old who volunteered to be in the last convoy. “Not a lot of people can say that they did huge things like that that will probably be in the history books.” The quiet withdrawal was a stark contrast to he high-octane start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike in southern Baghdad where Saddam Hussein was believed to be hiding, the opening shot in the famed shock and awe” bombardment. US and allied ground forces then stormed from Kuwait across the featureless deserts of southern Iraq toward the capital. Saddam and his regime fell within weeks, and the dictator was captured by the end of the year — to be executed by Iraq’s new Shiite rulers in 2006. But Saddam’s end only opened the door to years more of conflict as Iraq was plunged into a vicious sectarian war between its Shiite and Sunni communities. The near civil war devastated the country, and its legacy includes thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and infrastructure that remains largely in ruins. In the past two years, violence has dropped dramatically, nd Iraqi security forces that US troops struggled for years to train have improved. But t he s e c t ar i an rounds remain unhealed. Even as US troops were leaving, the main Sunni-backed political bloc announced Sunday it was suspending its participation in Pa r l i ament to prot e s t t h e monopol y on gov e r nment posts by Shiite allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. President Barack Obama stopped short of calling the US effort in Iraq a victory in an interview taped on Thursday w i t h A B C Ne w s’ B Walters. “I would de s c r ib e ou r troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis heir country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future,” Obama said. In the final days, US officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high, but tried to paint a picture of victory — for both the troops and the Iraqi people now freed of a dictator and on a path to democracy. But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian lashes? And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats? “We are glad to see the last US soldier leaving the country today. It is an important day in Iraq’s history, but the most important thing now is the future of Iraq,” said 25- ear- ld Said Hassan, the owner of money exchange shop in Baghdad. “The Americans have left behind them a ountry that is falling apart and an Iraqi army and security forces that have a long way ahead to be able o cdefend the nation and the people.” Some Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, neither invited nor welcome in a proud country. Others said that while grateful for US help ousting Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls. Iraq’s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Babaker Zebari said on Sunday that his troops were up to the ask of uprooting militant groups. Sunni militants continue to carry out bombing and shooting against police, soldiers and civilians, and Shiite militias continue to operate. “There are only scattered terrorists hiding here and there and we are seeking intelligence information to eliminate them,” Zebari said. “We are confident that there will be no danger.” The US convoys on Sunday were the last of a massive operation pulling out American forces that has lasted for months to meet the end-of-the-year deadline greed with the Iraqis during the administration of President George W Bush. As of Thursday, there were two US bases and less than 4,000 US troops in Iraq — a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by Bush in 2007, when violence as t its worst. As of Saturday night, that was down to one base — Camp Adder — and the final 500 soldiers. N Saturday evening at Camp Adder, near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles (320 kilometres) southeast of Baghdad, the vehicles lined up in an open field to prepare and soldiers went through last-minute equipment checks to make sure radios, weapons and other gear were working. Gen Lloyd Austin, the commanding general for Iraq, walked through the rows of vehicles, talking to soldiers over the low hum of the engines. He thanked them for their service and reminded them to stay vigilant on their final mission. “I wanted to remind them that we have an important mission left in the country of Iraq. We ant to stay focused and we want to make sure that we’re doing the right things to protect ourselves,” Austin said.
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