good evening. the president promised they d be out by new year s eve and here they come. american men and women in uniform are coming home after nine years, 4,500 lives lost and tens of thousands of injuries. staggering sacrifice here at home all the while. the war started with the event somebody called shock and awe and it became a tragic and prolonged slog. the u.s. and allied troops fought bravely. iraqi civilians suffered terribly. now the fighting phase comes to an end though far from a storybook ending. the president marked the occasion today with those in uniform who are just back from there and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker starts us off tonight. kristen, good evening. reporter: good evening to you, brian. president obama struck a reflective tone today when he addressed a crowd of returning war veterans. mr. obama has opposed the war since his days as a state senator. today he said it s harder to end a war than to begin one. hello, ft. bragg!
msnbc contributor colonel jack jacobs will be with us as we bring you live coverage from the end of baghdad for the end of mission ceremony. president obama and the first lady were at fort bragg, north carolina, paying tribute to our troops. all but around 150 u.s. service members will be out of iraq by the new year. kristen welker reports. hello, ft. bragg. reporter: appearing before a sea of members at ft. bragg, the president and the first lady marked a pivotal moment in the nash s history. after nine years in iraq, all the troops are returning. welcome home. welcome home. welcome home. reporter: the speech, a tribute to the 1.5 million americans who served and the nearly 4500 who gave their lives. hard work and sacrifice. those words only begin to describe the costs of this war. reporter: the president facing a tough re-election battle did not declare victory in iraq but has called the withdrawal a campaign promise kept. we are ending the war not with a fina
out by new year s eve and here they come. american men and women in uniform are coming home after nine years, 4,500 lives lost and tens of thousands of injuries. staggering sacrifice here at home all the while. the war started with the event somebody called shock and awe and it became a tragic and prolonged slog. the u.s. and allied troops fought bravely. iraqi civilians suffered terribly. now the fighting phase comes to an end though far from a storybookending. the president marked the occasion today with those in uniform who are just back from there and nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker starts us off tonight. kristen, good evening. reporter: good evening to you, brian. president obama struck a reflective tone today when he addressed a crowd of returning war veterans. mr. obama has opposed the war since his days as a state senator. today he said it s harder to end a war than to begin one. hello ft. bragg! reporter: appearing before a sea of service memb