In a final tactical road march, the last U.S. troops in Iraq crossed the border into Kuwait Sunday morning, ending almost nine years of a deadly and divisive war.
The war by the numbers:
Nearly 4,500 US troops killed
Over 32,000 troops injured
Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed
166,000 troops were deployed at the peak of the surge
The war lasted 3196 days
The war has cost $806 billion
By CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) - Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, told reporters Saturday he would like to keep a U.S. "military presence" in Afghanistan beyond 2014 when NATO is scheduled to withdraw its forces. Allen suggested the presence could last as long as 2016 when the Afghan Air Force is completed.
Allen insisted there is "no daylight" between him and the White House on this idea. Allen said he wants to shift the U.S. presence to an advisory capacity in the coming months and then continue to do that mission after 2014.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has asked Allen to review the counterinsurgency strategy and determine what changes are needed. Allen said he has to complete the review before he can decide on the rate of drawdown of current U.S. force levels.
By CNN Pentagon Producer Larry Shaughnessy
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Maryland (CNN) - Defense lawyers for an army private accused in the biggest intelligence leak in U.S. history brought up Saturday an alleged female alter ego of Bradley Manning's as they seek to establish his state of mind at the time of the alleged crimes.
The testimony came on the second day of Manning's Article 32 hearing, which also coincided with his 24th birthday.
A U.S. Army special agent, testifying by phone from Germany, was asked by one of Manning's attorneys if he knew that the Army private had an alter ego with the name, Breanna Manning. The agent said he was aware Manning used the name in online chats.
During questioning by Manning's lawyer, it was revealed Manning kept a folder of articles about gender identity disorder in his living quarters.
Manning is accused of leaking more than a quarter of a million classified Pentagon and State Department documents that ended up on the WikiLeaks website.
Follow the latest hearing developments here.
By CNN Pentagon Producer Larry Shaughnessy
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Maryland (CNN) - The attorney for the Army private suspected of being behind the biggest intelligence leak in U.S. history again failed to get the investigating officer to recuse himself at a military hearing.
The Army Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday night denied a motion from Bradley Manning's lawyer, who appealed the officer's refusal to remove himself from the proceeding earlier in the day. FULL POST
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertise with us | About us | Help | Advertising Practices
