President Obama announced Friday that all U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011, saying the troops "will definitely be home for the holidays."
The announcement, in the White House briefing room, came after the president completed a secure video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The discussion apparently finalized negotiations that have dragged on for months over what, if any, military presence the U.S. would maintain in Iraq beyond a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline set in 2008. The president said the two are now in "full agreement" over how to move forward, and that no U.S. troops will remain.
"As promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Obama said. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."
cydl wrote: About time! Call me cynical, but why didn't he do this earlier in his term? Why now - close to elections? Hmmmm.....
Because.....he promised to bring the troops home from Iraq, responsibly.....and that takes time. You guys are never happy, if he had brought them home immediately you would probably have screamed about endangering the troops......so he takes his time, allows the military to do it safely, and then he gets bashed for doing it right before an election. If he had done it a year ago it would have been right before the mid term elections. He'll be damned no matter what he does.