FILE - This Nov. 1, 2012, file photo shows former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel speaking in Omaha, Neb. President Barack Obama's possible pick of Republican Chuck Hagel to run the Pentagon raises serious concerns among some of his former Senate colleagues, who question his pronouncements on Iraq, Israel and the Middle East. The reservations publicly expressed by a few Republicans and even a Democrat hardly rival the unyielding GOP objections to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who withdrew from consideration last week for secretary of state in the face of relentless attacks mostly over her public statements about the Sept. 11 assault on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
Obama salutes soldiers who served during Iraq war
Published: 04:29:44 PM, Tue 19 March 2013 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is saluting U.S. troops for their conduct during the war in Iraq, declaring on the 10th anniversary of the start of the war that the sacrifice of Americans gave the Iraqi people "an opportunity to forge their own future after many years of hardship."
Obama opposed the war and ran for president on a pledge to end it. The last U.S. troops left in 2011.
In a statement Tuesday, Obama said the nation honors the memory of nearly 4,500 Americans who died in Iraq.
He said the U.S. still needs to meet its obligations toward those who served in Iraq, including more than 30,000 wounded. He said the nation must improve treatment for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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george w. bush, joe biden, obama, democratic party, war, united states, culture_politics, president of the united states, united states presidential election, 2008, iraq war, iraq, president barack obama, barack obama, u.s. troops, iraqi people, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, obama salutes soldiers
