As Iraq War ends, no parade for troops is imminent
By BEN NUCKOLS and SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press
Dec 27, 2011 1:32 PM CST
FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, speaks to troops at Fort Bragg, N.C. For now, there are no plans to hold a huge ticker-tape parade for troops returning from Iraq, no arrangements for a grand, flag-waving, red-white-and-blue homecoming...   (Associated Press)

Americans won't be seeing a huge ticker-tape parade anytime soon for troops returning from Iraq.

In fact, it's not clear if veterans of the nine-year campaign will ever enjoy the grand, flag-waving, red-white-and-blue homecoming that the nation's fighting men and women received after World War II and the Gulf War.

Officials in New York and Washington say they would be happy to help stage a big celebration. But Pentagon officials say they haven't been asked to plan one.

Some think a big parade would be unseemly and premature. After all, tens of thousands of U.S. troops are still fighting in Afghanistan.

And many veterans of the Iraq War could end up getting sent back into battle in Afghanistan.

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