Obama Says U.S. Will Leave Iraq 'On Schedule'

[Political Tiger]

President Obama declared Monday that the Iraq war was nearing an end "as promised and on schedule," touting what he called a success of his administration though it comes amid persistent instability and uncertainty in Iraq.

Obama cited progress toward meeting his deadline of withdrawing all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of this month. A transitional force of 50,000 troops will remain to train Iraqi security forces, conduct counterterrorism operations and provide security for ongoing U.S. civilian efforts. Under an agreement negotiated in 2008 with the Iraqis, all American troops are to be gone from Iraq by the end of next year.

"The hard truth is we have not seen the end of American sacrifice in Iraq," Obama said in a speech to the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans. "But make no mistake, our commitment in Iraq is changing — from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats."

The main message of Obama's appearance was the move toward fulfillment of Obama's campaign promise to end the Iraq war, a position that perhaps most defined his 2008 candidacy and was key to his base of support in the liberal wing of his party. With pivotal congressional elections approaching, the White House wants to highlight the progress as a success story. Monday's speech was only the first in a series of such events planned for this month, with others to be headlined by the president as well as Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128926361&sc=fb&cc=fp

[quiet.american]

1. Glad to hear it & will be glad when all troops are home at last next year. nt

[Number23]

2. Thank goodness.

[Cha]

3. The bush-cheney-corporate media whoredom

tragic quagmire in Iraq has taken some time to wind down but thankfully we got Obama-Biden in so they can REALISTICALLY extricate our Forces.

[Hekate]

4. kick

:kick:

[treestar]

5. Glad this is going as scheduled

It is being ended responsibly, and that's good.

[Cha]

6. Kick to get some facts FRONT AND

CENTER.

[firedupdem]

7. Excellent! n/t

[Cha]

8. Yeah, it's happening no

matter who sits around and grouses.