As last U.S. troops exit Iraq, they leave a troubled land behind

As last U.S. troops exit Iraq, they leave a troubled land behind
With little understanding of each other, Iraq and the U.S. collided in a long, brutal war that exacted a terrible price from both. They separate with very different understandings of what happened.
By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2011
Reporting from K Crossing, Kuwait

A U.S. military convoy sliced through the flat Iraqi desert before first light, carrying the last troops safely into Kuwait and ending America's costly and divisive war in a troubled land.

When relieved soldiers got out on the other side Sunday, shouts of "Going home!" and "It's over!" mingled with bear hugs and high-fives. One soldier hollered, 'I'm going to Disneyland!" Another, "A sweet, sweet Christmas."

The final vehicle passed a fortified Kuwaiti border police post eight years, eight months and 28 days after U.S. forces poured across the same frontier, 150,000 strong, sweating inside bulky chemical and biological protective suits, but convinced of a swift and certain victory. Once Saddam Hussein fell, the war would end and they would all soon return home.

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