Obama: US Will Meet Iraq Draw-Down Goal
VOA News 02 August 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States will end its combat mission in Iraq as scheduled.
Mr. Obama had set an August 31 deadline for removing combat troops. There were 140,000 troops in Iraq when Mr. Obama first took office. After the drawdown, 50,000 troops will serve as a transitional force.
Administration officials say August 31 will mark the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom launched by former President George W. Bush. The new mission will be called Operation New Dawn, where U.S. troops will focus on training Iraqi soldiers and performing counter-terrorism operations.
Mr. Obama's comments are part of a speech he is scheduled to deliver to a group of disabled veterans in Atlanta, Georgia. Excerpts of the speech were released in advance.
The president has set a goal of removing all U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of 2011.
The leading Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has commended the president for "adopting" and "continuing" the policy to wind down the Iraq war as outlined by the Bush administration.
In Iraq Monday, Iraqi officials say two civilians were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Baghdad. The blast also wounded four people.
In Fallujah, a bomb blew up a policeman's house. The officer and two others were killed, and seven people were wounded.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
