Topic: Iraq War

U.S. President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death with a speedy trip to Afghanistan, signing a strategic pact with Kabul on Wednesday and delivering an election-year message to Americans that the war is winding down.

Although there are no shortages of veteran hiring initiatives on Wall Street, very few banks have hiring programs specifically for combat veterans. Despite all the hype, vets still have to apply online like everyone else and compete against other civilian job seekers, who typically have more relevant industry experience than they do.

After charting five consecutive years of steady growth in the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported a sharp five-percentage point decline in January and February of this year, bringing the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans below that of the general population for the first time since 2008.

"Veterans have led in the field; they can lead in a factory or research facility. Veterans believe in getting the job done and doing it in the right way," writes GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt.

The toll from a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad on Thursday rose to 57 killed and 179 others wounded, Iraq's health ministry spokesman said.

British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62.

The U.S. military returned its biggest base in Iraq to the government on Friday, a huge compound near Baghdad airport that housed the American war operations center and hosted a captive Saddam Hussein before his execution.