Local Editor
US President Barack Obama announced Friday that all American occupation troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year, ending a long war.The decision came after Iraq failed to agree to legal immunity for a small residual force that Washington had hoped to keep in the country to train the army and counter the influence of neighboring Iran, officials said.
After nearly nine years, the deaths of more than 4,400 US troops, tens of thousands of Iraqis and the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars, Obama said the last American soldier would leave with his head held high.
"Today 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 at the White House. "Our troops in Iraq will definitely be home for the holidays," said Obama.
Obama announced the pullout after holding a video conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, which US officials said included a moving tribute by the Iraqi leader to American occupation troops who died in his country.
Obama said that despite the failure, US defense officials would still seek ways to help train Iraqi forces, as they do for many other nations. And hours later, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed such a strategy.
The US withdrawal provokes a number of questions about the war-ravaged country's future, including:
-- Are the Iraqi military and security forces up to the job of safeguarding security gains made over recent years?
-- How will Iran seek to expand its influence in Iraqi politics?
-- Is Iraq's fledgling political system robust enough to survive?
-- Will disputes between Kurdistan and Baghdad drive a deeper wedgebetween the autonomous region and the central government?
Obama administration officials declined to say whether the war had been worthwhile.
Maliki, who Obama has invited to the White House in December, said in a brief statement that the two leaders were on the same page on the withdrawal.
Clinton: US to Have Robust Presence throughout Region
Local Editor
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran not to interfere in Iraq, yet assured that “America is with you (Iraq) as you take your next steps in your journey to secure your democracy”.
This comes after US President Barack Obama announced Friday that “all US troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year.”Clinton addressed her warning during her visit to the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan, in which it assured that the US presence in the region will remain and will stay strong.
"… to countries in the region, especially Iraq's neighbors, we want to emphasize that America will stand with our allies and friends, including Iraq, in defense of our common security and interests," Clinton went on saying.
"We will have a robust continuing presence throughout the region, which is proof of our ongoing commitment to Iraq and to the future of that region, which holds such promise and should be free from outside interference to continue on a pathway to democracy." Clinton added.
US CONGRESSMAN - Kucinich: "We will simply be replacing one U.S. occupation with another
"As one of the first Members of Congress to oppose the war in Iraq, I welcome the President’s announcement that he will withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq at the end of the year. The U.S. has spent over $806 billion on a war that was based on lies. The war in Iraq has cost the lives of over 4,421 U.S. troops and an estimated 1 million innocent Iraqis.Longtime Iraq war critic Dennis Kucinich was not happy with President Barack Obama's Friday announcement about the war. "Yet today’s announcement fails to acknowledge that we will simply be replacing one U.S. occupation with another. Under the State Department’s current plans to take the place of the Department of Defense as the main U.S. force in Iraq post-military withdrawal, we are still maintaining a massive presence there, now with the State Department and its heavily armed private security contractors. And it is the presence of armed U.S. contractors that is the problem. It will continue to foment instability and violence in Iraq and the region. We need to get out now, not just trade uniforms and personnel. It is reasonable to ask whether the people of Iraq will notice any change."
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