Obama Announces Complete Drawdown of U.S. Troops in Iraq by Year’s End
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the country by year’s end.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.
“After nearly nine years,” the president, “America’s war in Iraq will be over.”
He spoke at the White House after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision.
The American withdrawal by the end of 2011 was sealed in a deal between the two countries when George W. Bush was president. Obama declared the end of the combat mission earlier this year.
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.Below, see earlier coverage:ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Luis Martinez
are reporting that President Barack Obama is planning to announce today that every U.S. troop will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year:
A White House official says that at approximately 11:30am today, President Obama convened a secure video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to talk with him about this news.
CNN is reporting the following:
Virtually all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year as the current Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq dictates, a U.S. official told CNN Friday.
[...]
This month, the United States and Iraq had been
unable to come to an agreement on key issues regarding legal immunity for U.S. troops who would remain in Iraq after the end of the year, effectively ending discussion of maintaining a significant American force presence beyond 2011.
About 39,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq, and the U.S. wanted to keep from 3,000 to 5,000 troops in Iraq past 2011.
The Associated Press claims that if this happens, it would mean that after eight years of war in Iraq, Obama would be making good on his promise to wind down the conflict.
More than 4,400 American military members have been killed since the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
