Final Convoy Of US Troops Leaves Iraq

The last US troops have withdrawn from Iraq, driving over the border into Kuwait nearly nine years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
It brings to an end a military campaign that has cost the lives of almost 4,500 US troops and more than 100,000 Iraqis.
As a convoy of 100 armoured vehicles carrying the soldiers rumbled into neighbouring Kuwait at dawn, the troops whooped and hugged each other in joy and relief.
Their exit marks the end of a bitterly divisive war that has left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast US ally.
President Obama, who campaigned on a promise to end what he called a dumb war, marked the end of the conflict in a speech to his troops earlier in the week.
The US military presence in Iraq began with the invasion in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.
The mission cost $800bn (about £515bn) from the US Treasury and the question of whether it was worth it all is yet unanswered.
The war that began in a blaze of aerial bombardment meant to shock and awe the dictator Saddam Hussein and his loyalists has ended quietly and with little fanfare.
US officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high but have tried to paint a picture of victory for both the troops and the Iraqi people now free from tyranny and on a path for democracy.
But questions remain: will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes and will the country be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and insurgent threats.
The soldiers leave behind an Iraq free from the tyranny of Saddam, who was hanged on the last day of 2006, inching toward democracy and vowing to be a good neighbour in the region.
But many Iraqis are nervous and uncertain about the future. Their relief at the end of Saddam's regime is tempered by a long and vicious war that was launched to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction and nearly plunged the nation into full-scale sectarian civil war.
America faces criticism for leaving behind a destroyed country with thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and without rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.
Some Iraqis have celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, others said that while grateful for US help to oust Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans agree, according to opinion polls.
The war began with an airstrike in southern Baghdad - where Saddam was believed to be hiding - before dawn on March 20, 2003.
US and allied ground forces then stormed across the Kuwaiti desert, accompanied by reporters, photographers and television crews embedded with the troops.
The final few thousand US troops left Iraq in orderly caravans and tightly scheduled flights, the massive logistical challenge of closing hundreds of bases and command outposts completed.
Over the last year, more than 50,000 US troops and their equipment have been moved out of Iraq - while soldiers still conducted training, security assistance and counterterrorism battles