Troops, families glad to hear end to Iraq combat

[Scurrilous]

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"As President Obama spoke, Violeta Sifuentes snuggled with her 6-year-old twins on the suede sofa — Samuel beside her, Selena sprawled across her legs. When the 29-year-old Army captain explained what the president meant by combat operations in Iraq being over, "Nina" let out a loud, "Woo-hoo!" then asked, "Can we go play now?"

Sifuentes had heard essentially the same thing earlier Tuesday, when the commander in chief visited Fort Bliss, Texas. He had shaken her hand, hugged her, thanked her personally for her service.

But seeing it on TV brought tears to Sifuentes' eyes.

"Now that he said it to the American people, it felt real," she said. "It was a good feeling to hear him say whether or not people agree with the wars, that it's about the men and women who are serving."

The president had said that his Oval Office address would be no victory speech, that there would be no banners declaring "mission accomplished." He marked the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom Tuesday by noting that we lived in an "age without surrender ceremonies," and that was just fine with many who fought and bled in that war."

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[SpiralHawk]

1. Meanwhile, Republicons concerned about a drop in War Profits