December first month without U.S. deaths in Iraq war

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — December was the first month since Iraq
war began in which there were no American deaths, a milestone hailed by
military officials Friday as they inaugurated a new name for the U.S.
force at the start of the year that will see the war wind down in
earnest.

Henceforth, the Multinational Force-Iraq
will officially be called the United States Force-Iraq, in belated
recognition of the fact that for some time there have been no other
nations serving alongside U.S. troops in the nearly 7-year-old conflict.

British, Australian and Romanian soldiers pulled out
in July, leaving Americans as the last surviving members of what former
President George W. Bush once called “the coalition of the willing.” A small number of foreigners are serving with a NATO training mission, but they were not part of the multinational force.

At its peak, the coalition included 32 nations, but the expression often drew snickers because many of its members, such as Estonia and Tonga, were among America’s smallest allies and they contributed fewer than 100 troops.

And now the U.S. is preparing to pull out too, adding an end-of-era feel to the renaming ceremony held at one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces on the sprawling Camp Victory complex outside Baghdad that serves as the military’s headquarters.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
told the servicemen and diplomats assembled in the palace’s marbled
foyer that the new name signaled a new phase for the U.S. military as
it prepares to halt all combat operations and draw down from the
current level of 110,000 troops to fewer than 50,000 by August.

The remaining U.S. troops, who will provide support and training, are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.

Although challenges remain, in the form of a continued al Qaida in Iraq presence and Iranian-sponsored Shiite Muslim militias, Petraeus said, “there has been sustained progress.”

Army Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq,
hailed the absence of American casualties in December as “a significant
milestone” in the U.S. efforts to leave behind a stable country.

The Iraqi government Friday released figures showing
that 3,454 Iraqis died in violence in 2009, the lowest level since the
war began in March 2003.

“Iraq
has moved out of the darkness toward the light of hope,” Odierno told
the crowd. “Two years from today U.S. forces will have completed their
redeployment and Iraqi security forces will be fully in charge of their
country.”

But there were reminders of the toll exacted by the
war, in which 4,371 U.S. servicemen and 318 coalition members have lost
their lives, according to the independent Web site icasualties.org..

In seats of honor in the front rows sat five soldiers who had been wounded in action, returning to Iraq
for the first time since they were injured. The face of one of the men
was severely disfigured. Another had hooks in place of his hands and
appeared to be missing most of his nose. After Petraeus pointed them
out, they received a warm round of applause.

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