“Thank You”

We quoted here the eloquent letter of appreciation that the Mayor of Tal Afar, Iraq, sent to the servicemen and women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. Today, reader David Ramos pointed us to this account of the 3d Armored Cavalry’s return home in the Rocky Mountain News. Mayor Najim Al Jibouri of Tal Afar addressed the crowd, through a translator, and reiterated the appreciation he expressed in his letter:

An Iraqi mayor stood before troops lined up on the lawn at Fort Carson on Friday morning and said only two words in English.
But those two words brought the crowd to its feet.

“Thank you.”

It was a telling gesture from Tal Afar Mayor Najim Al Jibouri, who spoke for about 20 minutes in his native tongue praising the 3rd Armored Cavalry for saving his city from certain ruin.

The photo below shows al Jibouri embracing Col. H.R. McMaster, whom we wrote about here.

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David Ramos adds:

The regiment has been home at Ft. Carson, CO since early March. It has taken the local media until now to notice the success of the regiment made during its second tour, though they seem reluctant to even acknowledge it. They still have the urge to write about “failures” and the continuing violence in Iraq. Also, the local media has yet to note the letter of praise the mayor wrote.

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