For many Americans, the announcement of the official end of the United States' combat mission in Iraq was a long time coming. After seven years, trillions of dollars spent and more than 4,400 American lives lost &- not to mention tens of thousands of Iraqis &- Operation Iraqi Freedom finally came to a close Tuesday night when Vice President Joseph Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates led a ceremony signifying the passing of the torch from the U.S. military to the Iraqi government via an American assistance mission called Operation New Dawn.
New Dawn's goal is to encourage the development of a stable coalition government in Iraq. This is to be done through the continued presence of about 50,000 American troops through 2011, although political and military officials maintain that the war itself is over.
The sudden upswing in coverage of the war as it draws to a close is ironic, considering it drew very little press over the last several years. The situation in Iraq faded from American consciousness, from ever present coverage on television news stations to brief blurbs buried in the papers as the war in Afghanistan took center stage.
This lack of coverage has made the Iraq War unique in the minds of many Americans because of the general lack of a personal connection to it. For the families of those who have served there over the past seven years, including those of the American troops who have died in the war, the ending of Iraqi Freedom carries a great significance. But for the millions who have never faced the prospect of a draft or whose only knowledge of the war comes from 30 second snippets on CNN or a lecture in a college class, the end of the war is more about turning the page in a sad chapter of American history than anything else.
With the war now over, politicians and citizens alike are still debating its legacy, including issues such as whether it was worthwhile and whether President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama was more responsible for bringing the conflict to its conclusion. Although the answers to these questions will continue to be up for debate, and still other questions will remain, one thing is for certain: had the war been covered with as much tenacity as it was fought in its final years, its end might have been a more celebrated milestone, inspiring discussions about all aspects of the conflict. But as things are, the Iraq War ended just the way it started, with confusion.
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