It was another of those great TV moments.
Embedded reports filming as the “last” brigade of American troops in Iraq cross the border into Kuwait bringing over seven years of unhappy conflict to its final, conclusive end.
America was, at last, at peace.
But like so many other great TV moments,
this one was a scripted fantasy,
a fake exit done purely for political gain by an increasingly unpopular president trying to look like he is keeping at least one campaign promise.
It was perhaps a different sort of scripted, mythical end to the Iraq War than the last one,
the May 1, 2003 “Mission Accomplished” speech of President Bush,
but it was no more real,
as over 50,000 US troops remain on the ground in Iraq tonight.