Obama: Troops in Iraq coming home this year

WASHINGTON - America's long and deeply unpopular war in Iraq will be over by year's end and all U.S. troops "will definitely be home for the holidays," President Obama declared Friday.

Stretching more than eight years, the war cost the United States heavily: More than 4,400 members of the military have been killed, and more than 32,000 have been wounded.

The final exit date was sealed after months of intensive talks between Washington and Baghdad failed to reach agreement on conditions for leaving several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq as a training force. The United States also had been interested in keeping a small force to help the Iraqis deal with possible Iranian meddling.

The task now is to speed the pullout of the remaining U.S. forces, nearly 40,000 in number.

Staying behind in Iraq, where bombings and other violence still occur, will be 150 to 200 U.S. military troops as part of embassy security, the defense attache's office, and the office of security cooperation. That's common practice, but still a danger to American forces.

Obama, an opponent of the war since before he took office, nevertheless praised the efforts of U.S. troops in Iraq. He said American soldiers would leave "with their heads held high, proud of their success."

For Obama, Friday's announcement capped a remarkable two days of national security successes, though there's no indication how much they will matter to re-election voters more concerned with economic woes at home.

On Thursday, the president heralded the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and a day later the end to one of the most divisive conflicts in U.S. history.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the United States more than $1.3 trillion. Obama did not declare victory. He did speak, though, about the string of wins on his watch - none bigger than the killing of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Afghanistan war still rages, but there, too, Obama has moved to end the combat mission by the end of 2014.

Shortly after taking office, Obama declared in February 2009 that the combat mission in Iraq would end by Aug. 31, 2010. And when that milestone arrived, he said it was "time to turn the page" on Iraq and put the focus back on building up the United States. On Friday, he said: "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

The ending of the war was set in motion before Obama took office. In 2008, President George W. Bush approved a deal calling for all U.S. forces to withdraw by Dec. 31, 2011.

At issue was whether that deal would be renegotiated to keep thousands of U.S. forces in Iraq. The Obama administration and Iraqi government spent months debating whether the United States would keep troops to maintain a training force, to provide added stability in a country where spectacular attacks still occur, and to serve as a hedge against Iran.

Throughout the talks, Iraqi leaders refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans refused to stay without that guarantee.

Obama never mentioned that issue Friday. He said that after speaking with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, both were in agreement on how to move forward. Obama said the two nations would now deal with each other in the normal fashion of sovereign countries and would keep open the idea of how the United States might help train and equip Iraqi forces.

"Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home," Obama said. "The last American soldiers will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing the American people stand united in our support for our troops."

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that, once all U.S. troops had left Iraq, the U.S. government would negotiate with the Iraqi government on a possible American role in training its land and air forces.

Panetta offered no estimate of the number of U.S. troops the Pentagon might be willing to provide as trainers or for other functions in Iraq after this year, but noted that the United States keeps thousands of troops in some other Persian Gulf nations as part of normal security cooperation and training partnerships. He cited as an example Bahrain, where there are nearly 5,000 U.S. troops as part of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Obama's announcement was applauded by congressional Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who called it "the right decision at the right time."

Republicans were more skeptical. Many praised the gains made in Iraq and gave Obama at least partial credit, but expressed concern that getting troops out would bring that progress into question.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said he feared that "all we have worked for, fought for, and sacrificed for is very much in jeopardy by today's announcement. I hope I am wrong and the president is right, but I fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country."

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney accused Obama of an "astonishing failure" to secure an orderly transition in Iraq.

White House deputy security adviser Denis McDonough countered that administration officials feel confident Iraqi security forces are well prepared to take the lead in their country. "These guys are ready; these guys are capable."