If you missed President Obama's speech Tuesday night, here's the bottom line:  he says combat operations in Iraq are over. 

Aside from that, it appears the situation in Iraq on Tuesday morning is no different than the situation in Iraq on Wednesday morning.  I know, some of you might be asking, "Hey- the President announced the end of combat operations in Iraq.  Does that mean my son or daughter won't be heading to Iraq later this Fall?"  The answer: no, your son or daughter will still be going to Iraq.  They likely will still be wearing body armor, and they likely will still be under the threat of enemy fire. But hey, the President says combat operations are over.  I'm not revealing any secrets, as it has already been reported that at least one Montana National Guard unit is headed to Iraq later this Fall.  

Below are the prepared statements released by all three members of Montana's Congressional delegation.  You will notice that both Montana's US Senators, Jon Tester (D-MT) and Max Baucus (D-MT), fail, just as President Obama did in his speech, to give credit to the troop surge for reducing the violence which has allowed the US military to already begin drawing down the troop presence in Iraq.  Both Baucus and Tester joined then-Senator Obama in opposing that very troop surge.  

Nonetheless, here's what our CoDel had to say:

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT): “Bringing our combat troops home from Iraq is the right thing to do.  As we welcome our brave service members home, we must also hold in our thoughts and prayers the Montanans and men and women across the country who continue to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan,” Baucus said. “We are so fortunate as Americans to have the best military in the world, and proud that more Montanans  volunteer for service overseas than anywhere else in the nation.  As long as there are American troops still serving in harm’s way, I will continue my commitment to ensuring they have the resources they need to accomplish their mission and come home safely.”

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT):  “This achievement is a testament to the sacrifices of the men and women in uniform whose courage in Iraq spread freedom and made America more secure.  But the job isn’t done, and even now our troops are in harm’s way in Afghanistan.  Until all our troops are home safely, I will continue to support their fight to rid the world of the tactics of terror once and for all.”

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT):  “I join all Americans in thanking the hundreds of thousands of men and women who supported combat missions in Iraq over the past seven years.  Hundreds of Montanans are still being asked to answer the call of duty in Iraq and until they come home, we’re not done by any measure.  We will do right by them and their families as they serve and after they return.  

For more coverage, NPR filed an interesting fact check on the President's speech, which you can read by clicking here.  I found their analysis of President Obama's war spending claim particularly telling:

OBAMA: "Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have not done what is necessary to shore up the foundation of our own prosperity. We have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has shortchanged investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits."

THE FACTS: This is partly true. For sure, the costly Iraq and Afghanistan wars have contributed to the nation's budget deficit — but not by as much as Obama suggests. The current annual deficit is now an estimated $1.5 trillion. But as recently as 2007, the budget deficit was just $161.5 billion. And that was years after war expenses were in place for both the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

Most of the current deficit is due to the longest recession since the 1930s. It has seriously depressed tax revenues while increasing costs to the government — including social safety-net programs such as unemployment insurance and spending by both the outgoing Bush and incoming Obama administrations on stimulus programs and on bailouts of banks and automakers.