Last U.S Combat Troops Are Leaving Iraq Now – Story Is Live on MSNBC, CNN; GOP’s Fox News Runs O’Reilly Flogging ‘Mosque’ Story

Finally, some good news. It’s 4:03 p.m. and MSNBC is reporting live from Iraq as the last U.S. combat troops in Iraq are en route to Kuwait where they will be transported home:

The last U.S. combat troops were crossing the border into Kuwait on Thursday morning, bringing to a close the active combat phase of a 7½-year war that overthrew the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, forever defined the presidency of George W. Bush and left more than 4,400 American service members and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead.

The final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., was about to enter Kuwait shortly after 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. Wednesday ET), carrying the last of the 14,000 U.S. combat forces in Iraq, said NBC’s Richard Engel, who has been traveling with the brigade as it moved out this week.

“We won! We won! It’s over! We brought democracy to Iraq!” a soldier shouted as fellow soldiers celebrated their arrival in Kuwait this week.

There will still be 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq, but their mission is support and training for the Iraqi military, not combat.

Update: 5:08 p.m. MSNBC and CNN are covering the story live. Fox is running Bill O’Reilly’s (taped) show. His topic: the (not at) Ground Zero (not a) Mosque non-story.

So it’s more important to Fox to suppress news that might redound positively to the president than it is to go live to cover the pull-out, which U.S. troops on the ground are celebrating and calling a victory.

If a liberal network tried to suppress this news the way Fox is doing, the folks on Fox would be calling them names, like un-American.

Verbatim

We’re supposed to believe, we savvy, pragmatic liberals, that the Democrats fleeing the anti-Muslim stampede are mere opportunists, not actual bigots. I guess we’ll have to take their word for it.

— Peter Beinart, writing in the Daily Beast about the Democratic reaction (or lack thereof) to the Manhattan mosque controversy.

Palin Headliner Moved to Smaller Venue Due to Sluggish Response

heroicmediaAre people finally growing weary of chronically aggrieved snark? Or do they just not care to toss hundred dollar bills at Sarah Palin anymore?

Slow ticket sales have bumped Sarah Palin’s appearance next week in Jacksonville to a smaller venue.

“An Evening of Hope with Sarah Palin” was moved from the 2,936-seat Moran Theatre to the 609-seat Terry Theatre…Mark Nelson, Florida director for Heroic Media, said the event was moved to the Terry Theatre because there weren’t enough tickets sold to hold it in the larger Moran.

“We would rather have a packed theater than a theater that’s not so packed,” Nelson said.

Yes, I just imagine those 600 people sharing that 3,000-seat theater would feel a little silly at the money they wasted. Money? Let’s talk. Preferred seating is $100 but a few general admission tickets are also available for $50. But if you’re willing to be a sponsor, you can buy all the Palin you want.

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