The war in Iraq officially ended on Thursday December 15, 2011 with a flag-lowering ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq. The ceremony was attended by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta who declared the war over, and looked ahead to an “independent, free and sovereign Iraq.”

Defense Secretary Panetta thanked the more than 1 million troops who have served in Iraq since the US-led invasion entered Iraq on March 20, 2003.

“The cost was high — in blood and treasure for the United States and also for the Iraqi people,” Panetta said. “But those lives have not been lost in vain.”

During the more than eight years of war in Iraq, nearly 4,500 U.S. service-members were killed with an additional 30,000+ wounded.

March 20, 2003 – December 15, 2011
8 years, 270 Days