Regular TV news viewers may remember the following report on “NBC Nightly News,” from August, 2010 which saw Richard Engel embedded with the last U.S. “combat troops” leaving Iraq in a convoy:
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Now, over a year later, we may be about to see another dramatic exit from the country.
In his public address on Iraq today, the President said the following about the last U.S. forces to leave the country:
“Over the next two months our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home. The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops.”
Assuming that the President was not generalizing, it sounds as though the last U.S. troops to leave Iraq will also be doing so via a convoy, most likely by crossing the border into Kuwait.
Leaving the country in a convoy takes more time than a military or charter flight and opens the possibility for attacks along the way… but it also makes for incredibly compelling video footage. It raises the question of whether viewers will be seeing another live report from “Bloom Mobile” as the last troops cross the border.