Obama Announces Complete Drawdown of U.S. Troops in Iraq by Year’s End

Obama Announces Complete Drawdown of U.S. Troops in Iraq by Year’s End:

President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one
of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. 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that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year’s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
U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011. He never mentioned the
tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to
keep several thousand U.S. 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.

“I can report that, 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.” (Continue reading this story).