President Obama saluted troops returning from Iraq during an appearance Wednesday at a sprawling Army base in Ft. Bragg, N.C. By Dec. 31, all U.S. troops are to leave Iraq. A large number of U.S. civilian government workers and contractors will remain there. In 2002, then-Rep. Bernie Sanders voted against giving President Bush a "blank check" to wage the war.  "The question is whether Saddam Hussein represents an imminent threat to the American people and whether a unilateral American invasion of Iraq will do more harm than good," Sanders said at the time. Today, large majorities in the U.S. public favor ending the war.

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