Obama: U.S. troops in Iraq deserve thanks

Troops who served in Iraq deserve America's thanks, President Barack Obama said ahead of a visit to Fort Bragg, N.C., as the U.S. military mission winds down. "It's important for us to express our thanks in words, but it's even more for us to express our thanks in deeds," Obama told WVEC-TV, Norfolk, Va., ahead of his trip with first lady Michelle Obama Wednesday to speak to some of the final U.S. troops returning home from Iraq. They were to speak at a military hangar at 11:55 a.m. EST, the White House said. This will be a season of homecomings, as military families around the country are "reunited for the holidays," Obama said Monday as the last U.S. military convoy prepared to roll out of Iraq this month, if not by Christmas. Fort Bragg is home of the U.S. Army Airborne forces, including the parachute-landing 82nd Airborne Division; the Army's unconventional-warfare and counterterrorism Special Forces, known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear; and the Army Forces Command and Army Reserve Command. Obama -- who ran for office in 2008 promising to wind down the war in Iraq -- said Oct. 21 U.S. troops would be out of Iraq by the end of the year, ending a nearly nine-year military engagement that cost the lives of 4,400 troops and more than $1 trillion. About 150 Defense Department military and civilian personnel are to remain to guard the U.S. Embassy, among other responsibilities. They will operate under the State Department, which will take the leading role in Iraq. The U.S. ended official combat operations in August 2010. Obama "looks forward ... to thanking the troops, thanking those who served, and discussing what that sacrifice that Americans have made means now, as the Iraq war comes to an end -- which is, as you know, what the president promised he would do when he was running for president, which was to end this war responsibly," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It wasn't that long ago that Iraq was the most dominant issue in America, the most pressing issue in our political discourse," Carney said. "And it is worth taking a moment to remember that, and to thank those who served, and to mark the fact that we're going to have a very important and continuing relationship with Iraq going forward." The administration announced Monday it would sell 18 more F-16 jet fighters to Iraq, helping rebuild an air force destroyed by war, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would seek other military equipment. Maliki indicated in November he was also open to an eventual return of U.S. troops as trainers. Obama said the U.S.-Iraqi relationship would extend far beyond security to trade, energy investment and educational exchanges. Iraq's economy is projected to grow faster than that of China or India, Obama said. Next week, a ceremony in Iraq will include the furling of the military's colors, which signifies the end of the mission. Obama's trip to Fort Bragg comes three years to the day after President George W. Bush, speaking at a Baghdad news conference, was almost struck by two shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist who yelled, "This is a farewell kiss, you dog!"