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Obama Marks End of Iraq Combat Mission

VOA News
31 August 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama is visiting troops at a Texas army base as he prepares to mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.

He is meeting, Tuesday, with soldiers at the Fort Bliss post who were deployed to Iraq during the seven-year, U.S.-led war.

Later Tuesday, Mr. Obama will deliver a nationally broadcast speech from the White House to discuss the end of the combat phase of the mission as well as the new advisory and training role for the U.S. military.

Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said now is not the time for "premature victory parades or self-congratulation." He told a veterans' group in Wisconsin Tuesday the U.S. still has tasks and responsibilities in Iraq.

In Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his country's security forces are ready to assume full responsibility of keeping the country and its citizens safe.

In a nationally televised speech Tuesday, Mr. Maliki said Iraq is a "sovereign and independent" state.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq where he has held talks with Iraqi leaders. He will preside over a formal change-of-command ceremony Wednesday, to mark the start of "Operation New Dawn."

The U.S. mission in Iraq has claimed the lives of more than 4,400 U.S. troops. More than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died in the conflict.

Just under 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from a peak of nearly 170,000 at the height of the 2007 military surge. American forces will no longer be allowed to go on combat missions unless requested and accompanied by Iraqi forces.

President Obama has pledged to remove all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Tuesday's milestone comes as Iraq faces a period of political deadlock over forming the country's next government, the result of inconclusive general elections six months ago.

Iraq is on high alert for attacks by insurgents after a series of bombings killed dozens of people and underscored the fragility of Iraq's recent security gains.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.