Obama: Iraq War Ends

It's official according to Obama.

From an Associated Press news alert:

Obama: `After nearly 9 years our war in Iraq ends this month'

It's over.

Obama has declared that we are leaving with "heads held high."

Oh really?

From CBS News:

President Obama marked the end of the United States' almost nine-year war in Iraq on Monday, saying at an appearance with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that the final U.S. troops leave Iraq this year "with their heads held high."

Mr. Obama is taking something of a victory lap this week for fulfilling his campaign promise to end the war, which will effectively end when the several thousand remaining troops exit the country by December 31. On Saturday, he thanked service members at the annual Army-Navy football game; on Wednesday, he and first lady Michele Obama will visit Fort Bragg in North Carolina to speak to troops about the war.

"This is a season of homecomings," Mr. Obama said Monday at the White House, flanked by al-Maliki. "Military families across America are being reunited for the holidays."

Mr. Obama's decision to end the war - in keeping with a timetable first put in place under former President George W. Bush - has been popular with the American people, with even one in two Republicans saying they approve of his handling of the issue.

Obama and al-Maliki met Monday to discuss the strategic relationship between the countries, which Mr. Obama described as an "equal partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect." He described Iraq as "sovereign, self-reliant, and Democratic," telling the Iraqi leader, "You have a strong, enduring partner in the United States of America."

Despite the positive rhetoric from Mr. Obama, the U.S. troop withdrawal comes at a time when it is far from clear that Iraq will be able to maintain its security and a health political system - and with Iran seeking to expand its influence in Iraq and in the region as a whole. Both Iran and Iraq are majority Shiite, and there are ties between the two countries' political establishments; it is not clear whether Iraq will become a safe haven for America's enemies once the United States fully leaves the country.

The "positive rhetoric" from Obama makes me sick.

On the 2008 presidential campaign trail, Obama bragged about his opposition to the war in Iraq.

I find it strange to hear Obama speak about success in Iraq with any degree of pride, given his opposition to the war.

In 2007, when Obama was campaigning in Madison, here's what he said about Iraq:

Obama talked about Iraq. He told of how he spoke out against the war during his Illinois Senate campaign in 2002.

"This is a dumb war, ...and we shouldn't fight it."

I wish Obama would have included that line in his statements about the war being over.

"Of course, as you know, Iraq is a dumb war and we shouldn't fight it. It was a mistake. The troops fought in a war that was dumb, dumb, dumb. Their accomplishments were made in the name of dumbness. I'm bringing American troops home."

That's what Obama should have said.

No one's head should be held high leaving Iraq, according to Obama.

Obama is such a hypocrite for having the audacity to hold his head high.