Written by Darien Francis   

We should all raise a toast to Obama the commander-in-chief for putting finality to the Iraq war today. In the same year he exterminated the world's worst villain and is in the process of extinguishing the flames of Al Qaeda. Why are the celebrations muted and downplayed by the media and even Obama himself?

Read more.

Here are a few facts:

• More than 8 years ago US troops led the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, in coalition with the UK and other nations.

• The US has lost 4,487 service personnel in Iraq since the start.

• The most realistic estimate of the cost of the war: over $801,000,000,000. Some say over $3,000,000,000,000.

Obama made it one of his campaign promises to end that war and he did it today. Obama finished the job of ridding the planet of Osama Bin Laden once and for all in a very brash and decisive move. He did this by invading Pakistan to slay one of the world's most deplorable characters. The execution of this mission was polished and final in every way. The Iraqi war cost the USA in many ways beyond the monetary losses and may have set us back historically for decades.

We must feel some amount of joy and relief for this event. This was not a winnable war but we win by ending it; literally and figuratively by stopping the bleeding.

If history shows that Iraq becomes a better place because of our intervention - so be it.

If history shows that the Iraqi government was only waiting for the US exit to form firm alliances with Iran and Syria - so be it too.

In the latter case it would show that our ridiculous campaign to travel across several continents and pour our scare resources in this ‘empire making’ event was a costly mistake. It should l serve as a lesson for the future for us to stay home and take care of business here.

With the outpouring of depressing negative news this must be highlighted. It is interesting to watch the Republicans squirm at the decision to do this. McCain today feels like an idiot just because it is all ending he is saying that Obama must praise the last crazy administration for the surge in troops. He is just upset that Obama is putting an end to the crazy war that they started but could not end. The Republican warmongers have no more talking points.

History may prove this eight year war is a blot against America as the violence between domestic factions contuse almost unabated. This wanton waste of resources and human lives will never change the mind set of the people.

Let’s celebrate our own liberation from this war and congratulate Obama for closing down and turning off the lights.