Sablan in a statement said like other Americans, CNMI residents with loved ones, family members or friends serving in Iraq are glad and grateful for Obama’s announcement.
“The Northern Mariana Islands lost 14 of our sons and daughters in military service since the Iraq War began in 2003. We will always mourn their loss and honor their service,” Sablan said.
“Now, we can be grateful that no more of our brave soldiers will be at risk in Iraq, even as we continue to pray for those who remain at war in Afghanistan,” he added.
In an email yesterday, Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan said the Fitial administration is very much grateful to the president.
“This will certainly be a wonderful gift to families in the coming holiday season,” Demapan said.
He noted that the nation has spent an “enormous amount of money overseas, but even greater than the value of cash, we have lost too many of our beloved sons and daughters.”
He added, “We join many other families whose loved ones are serving in Afghanistan and other places, as they too wait the day when they will hear a similar decision….”
Every single day, he said, the CNMI is “honored and humbled by the sacrifices that servicemembers make in the name of our freedom and country.”
“Because of their valor and determination to preserve liberty and justice, each of us is able to sleep each night and wake up the next day with freedom on our side,” he added.
“As your loved ones currently in Iraq begin the process of winding down and completing their operation, we shall continue to pray that they be kept out of harm’s way and that they return home to their families safely,” he said.
