Obama announces total Iraq troop withdrawal
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President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in US history, announcing that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.
Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the US would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011.
"I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over,” Obama said.
He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to keep several thousand US forces in Iraq as a training force and a hedge against meddling from Iran or other outside forces.
Instead, Obama spoke of a promise kept, a new day for a self-reliant Iraq and a focus on building up the economy at home.
Obama spoke after a private videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision. The US military presence in Iraq stands at just under 40,000.
All US troops are to exit the country in accordance with a deal struck between the countries in 2008 when George W Bush was president. Obama, an opponent of the war from the start, took office and accelerated the end of the conflict.
In August 2010, he had declared the US combat mission over. "The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops," US President said.
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