SEVEN YEARS OF WAR IN IRAQ
Kyaemon 
On War: Seven Years of War in Iraq | Plog — World news photography, Photos — The Denver Post
137 pics
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/03/20/on-war-seven-years-of-war-in-iraq/1609/
Mar20, 2010
(AP) It was a day like any other day — except that it was the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And, for the most part, that was forgotten.
It’s not that the average American isn’t aware that we still have tens of thousands or troops in Iraq, or that nearly 4,400 U.S. military personnel have died there since the war began. Scattered demonstrations were scheduled around the country to call for the troops’ swift return.
But with so much else going on — a torpid economy, a climactic debate over health care reform, a mounting conflict in Afghanistan — it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Americans are still fighting and dying in Iraq.
The White House made no comment Friday on the anniversary of the start of the war. The U.S. military said there were no ceremonies or special events to mark the day, which saw five Iraqis — but no Americans — die in violent incidents.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/205673/iraq_war/
June 18, 2008
North of downtown Baghdad, Iraq lies Sadr City and several other neighboring districts, predominantly shiite and impoverished. A recent lull in fighting between militias, and US and Iraqi armed forces has allowed security forces and aid supplies to return to the area. The truce remains tenuous, as a car bomb detonated yesterday in a crowded market, killing more than 50 Iraqis. Here are some images of daily life in and around Sadr City, Baghdad over the past several weeks. (16 photos total)
July 1, 2009
Iraq takes a step toward sovereignty
Six years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the government of Iraq set aside Tuesday as a national holiday, celebrating “Sovereignty Day” as U.S. troops, on schedule, pulled out of all major Iraqi cities – the first phase of a full withdrawal scheduled for the end of 2011. Many residents of these cities took their cues from Iraqi officials and security forces and celebrated the day in streets, parks and at home – despite the hot weather, remaining doubts about the capabilities of Iraqi forces, several deadly bombings, and the fact that no U.S. troops actually left the country. Nearly 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, providing continued support until 2011. As of today, the Department of Defense has identified 4,308 American service members who have died since the start of the war. (33 photos total)
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aug 18, 2010
Last U.S. combat brigade heads home from Iraq
KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait (AP) – As their convoy reached the barbed wire at the border crossing out of Iraq on Wednesday, the soldiers whooped and cheered. Then they scrambled out of their stifling hot armored vehicles, unfurled an American flag and posed for group photos.
For these troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Barack Obama’s Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
The Stryker brigade, based in Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and named for the vehicle that delivers troops into and out of battle, has lost 34 troops in Iraq. It was at the forefront of many of the fiercest battles, including operations in eastern Baghdad and Diyala province, an epicenter of the insurgency, during “the surge” of 2007. It evacuated troops at the battle of Tarmiyah, an outpost where 28 out of 34 soldiers were wounded holding off insurgents. (18 images)
September 3, 2008
Over five years since it began, the war in Iraq continues, but with some recent notable progress. On Monday this week, American forces formally returned responsibility for the security of Anbar Province, at one time, the center of the Sunni insurgency, to the Iraqi Army and police force. Violence in the region has decreased dramatically – attacks down by 90% over the past two years. The continuing relative peace and order in the region remains a fragile scenario, with many former insurgents now acting as police, or as gunmen allied with American-backed “Awakening Councils”. Here are some scenes from around Iraq (and a couple from here in the U.S.) over the past several months. (28 photos total)