US Forces Hold End Of War Ceremony But No Iraqi Leaders Bother To Show Up

After nine years of war, 4,500 dead Americans, 32,000 casualties, $800 billion dollars in spending and 22 million liberated Iraqis, the Iraq War has come to an end. Today in Baghdad, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta presided over an end of war ceremony with US troops and guess what? None of the Iraqi leaders bothered to show up. This lack of gratitude speaks volumes about the strain in the relationship between the US and Iraq. Having served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom myself, I take this as a personal insult. These people would still be living under the tyrannical fist of Saddam Hussein if it weren't for the United States. We've seen this story time and time again in the Middle East. We have liberated and saved more Muslim lives than any other country in modern times and yet we continue to suffer from the lack of support on the Arab Street. It was reported that Iraqi's in Fallujah burned American flags to celebrate the withdrawal of US troops. Oh how memories are short in that part of the world!