"President Obama declared the beginning of the end of one of the longest and most divisive wars in American history on Friday as he announced that he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 and all remaining troops by December 2011.
"The decision, outlined before thousands of camouflage-clad Marines here, underscored the transformation in national priorities a month after Mr. Obama took office as he prepared to shift resources and troops from increasingly stable Iraq to increasingly volatile Afghanistan.
"But it also marked a sharp change in America’s attitude about Iraq after years of wrenching debate over war and peace. Despite some grumbling on the left and right, Mr. Obama’s pullout plan generated support across party lines on Friday, including from his rival in last year’s election and advisers to his predecessor, indicating an emerging consensus behind a gradual but firm exit from Iraq.
"The plan will withdraw most of the 142,000 troops now in Iraq by the summer of next year, leaving 35,000 to 50,000 to train and advise Iraqi security forces, hunt terrorist cells and protect American civilian and military personnel. Those “transitional forces” will leave by 2011 in accordance with a strategic agreement negotiated by President George W. Bush before he left office....
"Mr. Obama presented his plan at the same base where, in April 2003, with American forces nearing Baghdad, Mr. Bush declared that “we will accept nothing less than complete and final victory.”
"Nearly six years, more than 4,200 military deaths, tens of thousands of civilian deaths and $657 billion later, the definition of victory has evolved. If the uneasy but relatively democratic Iraq that is emerging counts as a victory of sorts, it proved to be longer, bloodier and more damaging to America’s reputation than anticipated.
"At the same time, the consensus behind Mr. Obama’s plan may stem in part from the subsiding violence since Mr. Bush changed strategies and sent more troops in January 2007, a shift that the new president, who opposed it, did not directly address in his speech. The urgency on the left to pull out faster has eased as casualties have fallen, while the imperative on the right to stay has waned with the successes of the last two years.
"Republicans who backed Mr. Obama on the issue said he owed his ability to pull out to the troop buildup. “The dramatic success of the surge strategy has enabled us to move from a discussion about whether the United States could bear the catastrophic consequences of failure in Iraq, to planning the way in which to consolidate success there,” Senator John McCain of Arizona said.
"Mr. McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate who clashed sharply with Mr. Obama over the future of Iraq during the campaign last year, called the withdrawal “reasonable” and said he was “cautiously optimistic that the plan as laid out by the president can lead to success.”
"Former Bush aides called it the logical next step after his agreement to pull out by 2011. “The specific timing is only slightly different but consistent with the goal of helping Iraq become self-sufficient in providing its own security,” said Gordon D. Johndroe, Mr. Bush’s last national security spokesman. “This is possible because of the success of the surge.”
"In a separate interview with PBS, Mr. Obama said the security progress of the last two years still left much undone in political reconciliation, citing a long-awaited law distributing oil revenues that has yet to pass. “Frankly, we have not made the kind of progress over the last year to two years, despite the surge,” he said.
"Mr. Obama called Mr. Bush moments before the announcement as a courtesy, aides said. But then during his speech, Mr. Obama implicitly rebuked Mr. Bush for getting into Iraq in the first place, noting that Iraq taught painful lessons about how and when America should go to war. Mr. Obama said America must go only “with clearly defined goals” after weighing “the costs of action” and building support at home and abroad. To that end, he vowed intensive diplomacy in the region, including outreach to Iran and Syria...
"The president’s venue underscored the shift in emphasis. About 8,000 Marines stationed here will ship out soon to Afghanistan, part of the 17,000-troop buildup he ordered. The Marines applauded when he promised to bring troops home from Iraq.
"Some Democrats had complained that too many troops would remain after August 2010 but tempered their criticism after the speech. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, who on Thursday called a 50,000-member residual force too big, on Friday called Mr. Obama’s plan “sound and measured,” while urging him to keep “only those forces necessary for the security of our remaining troops and the Iraqi people.”
"Nancy Pelosi of California, the House speaker who also criticized the residual force this week, said Friday that it should be “as small as possible” but praised the withdrawal plan as “good news because it signals that the war is coming to an end.”
"Mr. Obama called Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki from Air Force One en route here to brief him, and called Mr. Bush from the base just before addressing the troops. Yassen Majeed, an adviser to Mr. Maliki, said the prime minister was “very comfortable with the plan.”
“I think we’re ready to take over the responsibilities from the Americans,” Mr. Majeed said. “Our forces will be up to it, and we are even ready right now.”
"But others were cautious, including Sunni lawmakers worried about their influence in the Shiite-dominated government. “All Iraqis want the Americans to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible,” said Adnan al-Dulaimi, a senior Sunni politician. “We’re just afraid of the vacuum that this withdrawal may cause.”
Remarks of President Barack Obama – Responsibly Ending the War in Iraq
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