No Triumphant Banner Was unfurled on the bridge of an aircraft carrier as the last U.S. combat brigade departed Iraq, but the soldiers heading home could be forgiven their sense of exultation. They had accomplished their mission; it was not their fault that it had been redefined over and over again during the seven years and five months of combat operations. Whatever their political masters required of them, they unfailingly delivered. Smash Saddam's army? Check. Crush the Shi'ite Mahdi Army? Check. Wrest Fallujah from the Sunni insurgency-twice? Check and check.
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