Out with the old, in with the new

AP/MSNBC

BAGHDAD — Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday. The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens.

It was the first exchange of fire involving U.S. troops in Baghdad since the Aug. 31 deadline for formally ending the combat mission, and it showed that American troops remaining in the country are still being drawn into the fighting.

Well, the "end of the combat mission" didn't last very long, did it? Maybe it was the end of the old combat mission and this heralds the start of the new combat mission. Yeesh.