Sedalia natives and former residents who served in the Iraq War expressed a mixture of relief and skepticism following Thursday’s ceremonial end to the nearly nine-year conflict.
Gone now is talk of “WMDs,” and the stunning “shock and awe” might of the fully flexed American military muscle that stormed its way into Baghdad in April 2003 — less than a month after the war’s beginning on March 20, 2003. Those who served, much like the public at large, remain conflicted over the war’s cost, which includes the loss of nearly 4,500 lives and a price tag in treasure that stands at $800 billion.
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