( CNN ) -- You can take the man out of the uniform , but you ca n't take the uniform out of the man . Once a soldier , always a soldier . That 's why , despite my cautious optimism regarding President Obama 's recent announcement of the planned end of the Iraq war , I 'm still a little wary . This is n't the first time a president has told me the war was over . On May 1 , 2003 , my men and I were in Kuwait , waiting for orders to move into Iraq . A young rifle platoon leader in the infantry , I knew just enough to be both eager and nervous . Everyone knows what happened next : the aircraft carrier , the flight suit , the Mission Accomplished banner . A declaration of an end to major combat operations . We thought our war had ended before it even began . Little did we know it was just starting . Our orders to move north were issued that very day . And very soon , we found the war we thought was gone , in the streets and alleys of Baghdad . Eight-and-a-half messy years later , a war the American people were led to believe would only last a few weeks is -- in theory -- winding down . Historians will debate the question of whether it was worth it for generations . Did it establish a stable democracy in the heart of the Middle East ? No one can say for sure . Did it punish the deserving and bring justice to those that sought to do us harm ? That 's an even tougher one . Did it affect the Arab Spring ? Perhaps , but so did Twitter . And can we really say the war is `` over '' when bombs are still going off and killing Iraqis , untold amounts of contractors are staying , and troops are still dying ? What ca n't be debated are the effects on those who did the fighting . More than 4,400 American families are forever shattered , having lost a son or a daughter or a mother or a brother . Over 32,000 service members were wounded in action physically . And the war lives on in the hearts and memories of every Iraq veteran , whether they 've transitioned smoothly back to civilian life with a job or are still ravaged by their experience and in desperate need of help . Make no mistake about it -- America has only started to pay for this war . It 's like the hidden charges on bills from the cable company , they might not get you right away , but they 'll get you eventually . Iraq veterans are young hard-chargers now , but as time passes , that will change , just as it does for every person . They will grow older , marry , have kids , and , if given the opportunity , grow into the New Greatest Generation title bestowed upon them . But that 's going to take time , care and money . Long term , it 's estimated that these wars could cost between $ 600 billion and $ 1 trillion , to include the care for more than 2.3 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans . Those are imposing numbers , to be sure , especially in this time of an economic recession and spiraling debt . But those numbers will only increase with time if we slash veteran program funding in a shortsighted rush , as some in Washington have begun chattering about . Whether one agreed with the Iraq war or not , we all own it now . That 's how our country works . Every single brave man and woman who wore the uniform overseas went over there wearing the American flag , representing us and our nation 's ideals . Now , the time has finally come for all of them to return home on December 31 , 2011 . And a new front awaits back here . One president began the Iraq war . Another ended it . But it was yet another commander-in-chief , President Lincoln , who said , `` Let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation 's wounds ; to care for him who shall have borne the battle , and for his widow , and his orphan . '' That work is n't done . And until it is , I wo n't consider the Iraq war over . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul Rieckhoff .
Paul Rieckhoff says he once was fooled into thinking the Iraq war was over . The former U.S. ambassador to Germany said in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD that he had been duped by a group of Iraqi soldiers who told him they were from the U.S.-led coalition and wanted Whatever happens after U.S. troops leave Iraq , the war will continue for America . He says it could cost up to $ 1 trillion to care for the Iraq , Afghanistan veterans .