Top 10 Things TIME Is Thankful for This Year

Historians, politicians and generals have spent a lot of time studying how wars begin, but precious little scholarship is devoted to how wars end. The Korean War ended with an armistice (technically, the war continues to this day); Vietnam culminated with a peace treaty and withdrawal, only to see South Vietnam fall to the North. Even the Gulf War — a one-sided coalition victory — ended after exactly 100 hours of ground combat with Saddam Hussein still in power. There's been a great deal of debate about how we got into the current Iraq War, but this month, the ending finally became clear. The Obama Administration announced it will adhere to a status-of-forces agreement signed by George W. Bush in 2008, mandating that all U.S. troops will leave the country before the New Year. As the war enters its final month, 4,485 American soldiers have been killed according to the Brookings Institution. As a former Army captain, if there is one thing I will be thankful for, it's that the war I fought in will finally end, and the last troops there will finally go home.

See photos of one American unit's final days in Iraq.