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White House's 'Promise Kept' Iraq Timeline Starts On Jan. 20, 2009

"Promise Kept," it says on the landing page of the Iraq War interactive timeline posted by the White House today.
WhiteHouse.gov
"Promise Kept," it says on the landing page of the Iraq War interactive timeline posted by the White House today.

A message from the White House on its Twitter page popped up a few minutes ago saying:

"After nearly 9 years of sacrifice, America's war in Iraq is coming to an end. Experience the interactive timeline: wh.gov/iraq"

The timeline isn't about all nine years, though. Called "Promise Kept," it covers about the past three years and focuses on the current administration:

After this statement. ...

"American troops have served in Iraq with honor and distinction since March 19, 2003, but the cost to our nation has been great. December 2011 marks the end of our mission in Iraq, and the fulfillment of a promise Barack Obama made to the American people even before he became President. Now, President Obama has made another promise to the troops and their families: We will fight as hard for them as they return home as they have done for us these past nine years."

... Users are urged to "scroll down to experience the interactive timeline," which jumps to Jan. 20, 2009, the day Obama was inaugurated and then moves on to such things as the president's "first speech on Iraq," his first visit to Iraq as commander in chief and his Aug. 31, 2010, announcement about the end of the combat mission in Iraq.

It ends with remarks the president made on Aug. 30 paying "humble tribute to the more than 6,200 Americans in uniform who have given their lives in this hard decade of war [which includes the fallen in Afghanistan]. We honor them all."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.