U.S. Troops to Leave Iraq by Year’s End, Obama Says [wink]
October 22nd, 2011I was surprised that this New York Times piece actually contained the punchline, for those who kept reading long enough:
There will also be 4,000 to 5,000 private State Department security contractors, as well as a significant C.I.A. presence. In Afghanistan, about 95,000 American troops remain.
*chortle*
Remember the Superbase?
Anyway, this is a good one for your voluminous If Obombya’s Lips Are Moving… and Translations of New York Times Headlines file folders.
Via: New York Times:
President Obama announced on Friday that the last American soldier would leave Iraq by the end of this year, drawing to a close a divisive eight-year war that cost the lives of more than 4,400 troops, defined the presidency of George W. Bush, and helped ignite his own political rise.
The decision leaves only a vestigial presence of Marine embassy guards and liaison officers staying on where more than a million troops, in all, have served.
…
“Today, I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year,” the president said in a midday appearance at the White House. Anticipating what he called “another season of homecomings,” he declared, “Our troops will definitely be home for the holidays.”
Just ONCE I’d like to read a “news” item penned with the proper amount of sarcasm directly embedded therein…:
“…while the uniformed cannon fodder will be shipped to other bases, ostensibly to serve with occupation forces and offer their extensive field expertise in hostile surroundings, several thousand mercenaries will remain in Mesopotamia, managed by a crack team of CIA known colloquially as the “Agents of Misfortune”…”