EDMOND — Edmond residents reacted to the shift in the mission in Iraq, agreeing that it is a good time to thank the troops, their families and recall their sacrifices.

Tuesday marked the end of combat operations in Iraq and Wednesday will be the start of Operation New Dawn. With just under 50,000 troops currently on the ground in Iraq, the United States is increasing efforts on the diplomatic, political, economic and cultural fronts.

Bill Milam, commander of Edmond’s VFW Post 4938, said if he had a chance to speak directly to U.S. troops he would tell them they have done a good job and say thank you.

Milam said the change appears to be for the best, and that Iraq might now be relatively stable.

“I think it’s great that they’re finally trying to work out something that will help our troops,” Milam said.

Retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, the first woman to achieve the rank of brigadier general in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, said she has mixed feelings about the change, but she trusts the decision makers, and overall it is a positive development.

Aragon said she is proud of the U.S. troops who have served in Iraq, where thanks to their service and sacrifices a democracy is taking root. The nation owes them a great debt, as do the people of Iraq, she said.

Many Iraqi leaders have publicly thanked Americans for their sacrifices.

Billye Hanson, a military mom and volunteer with The Hugs Project, a grassroots military support organization, said she is aware of the troop drawdown, and if she had a chance to talk to U.S. service men and women who served there, she would tell them thank you.

“They left the country in much better shape than when they got there,” Hanson said. “I would thank them for their sacrifices.”

Tuesday night, President Barack Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office.

Before the speech, at Texas’ Fort Bliss, Obama told troops that the speech would not be a victory lap and would not be self-congratulatory because there is still a lot of work to be done.

“But the fact of the matter is that because of the extraordinary service that all of you have done, and so many people here at Fort Bliss have done, Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself, and America is more secure,” Obama said.

During the buildup to the mission change, Americans have been counting the costs. Tuesday, the president met with Gold Star families. Monday, he was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

More than a million troops have served in Iraq. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, 4,421 Americans serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom have been killed in the Arabian Sea, Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, the Persian Gulf, Qatar, the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Department of Defense. The number includes casualties that occurred on or after March 19, 2003.

Estimates of how many Iraqi civilians have been killed, largely by insurgents, vary widely.

During Operation Enduring Freedom, the name for operations in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 1,246 Americans were killed. The combat mission there continues.

Since the March 2003 invasion, progress in Iraq includes political freedom, buildup of Iraqi Security Forces — now 660,000 strong — infrastructure improvements and the building of schools and health clinics.

Hanson said Americans have heard more negative than positive news about Iraq, and troops there have made a difference in the lives of Iraqis.

Remaining issues in the country include creation of a new government, easing sectarian tensions, correcting lingering problems with infrastructure and unemployment.

Seating of a new government could still be months away. In March 2006, Iraq’s new four-year, constitutionally based government took office. The last national parliamentary election was March 7.

When asked if democracy will hold in Iraq, Aragon said a democracy is an evolving process involving a constantly changing political landscape.

“It has been hard for them. It has been hard for us,” she said.

Milam said he hopes the change doesn’t backfire on the United States, that things don’t fall apart in Iraq once combat operations end. Hanson said the nation should be prepared to return if needed, if asked.

From July 1979 to March 2003 Saddam Hussein and the Ba’ath Party ruled Iraq. Major reasons for the U.S.-led invasion were the government’s then-suspected possession of weapons of mass destruction, its ties to Al Qaeda and economic factors.

No weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, according to a 2005 Central Intelligence Agency report.



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