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6 years later, progress and doubts are legacy of Iraq war

Six years ago Thursday, then-President George W. Bush appeared on television screens across America and somberly addressed the nation.

"My fellow citizens," he began his four-minute speech, "at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger."

Six years later, the conflict in Iraq drags on -- with war-fatigued Americans shoving the military operation to the deep recesses of their psyches as they grapple with an economic crisis at home.

Only 10 percent of voters questioned in exit polls during the November presidential elections picked the war as their top issue. Sixty-two percent said the economy was.

"This is already one of the longest wars in American history. There's nothing new in Iraq," said Steven Roberts, a professor of media studies at the George Washington University. "We've read the stories of instability in the government a hundred times. Every single possible story has been told, and so there is enormous fatigue about Iraq."

Read entire article at CNN