Obama Confirms End Of Combat In Iraq

Aug 3, 2010 by James

*Further Update* On Tuesday August 31 2010 President Barack Obama will announce the official end of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

*UPDATE*As of Saturday August 07 2010 the U.S. handed over all combat responsibility to Iraqi forces. General Ray Odierno was on hand to witness the 4th Brigade 2nd Infantry Division hand over the final bit of responsibilities. Confirmation via CNN

Yesterday the President of the United States announced that combat missions in Iraq are ending as of August 31st and the troop draw down is on schedule. Currently there are around 65,000 troops in Iraq and about 15,000 will be departing the war zone likely to never go back. The remaining 50,000 “support” troops will remain to assist in training Iraqi forces and to conduct anti terrorism activities side by side with Iraqi forces. President Obama said that the end of operations would arrive “as promised and on schedule”.

The White House and Baghdad came to an agreement in 2008 with the Bush administration that all U.S. troops be out of Iraq by 2011 and both Obama and Karzai are sticking to that plan. While it is a long time coming Obama reminded us that more American blood is likely to be shed until they are all home. During a speech at the National Convention for Disabled Veterans he said, “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.”

While Obama does his press tour ensuring that everyone knows he is ending the war; the war goes on. Baghdad released a report last month saying that 535 people died and that would make July the deadliest month ever. The United States disagrees and says that only 222 people lost their lives. According to reports it seems as if the U.S. is trying to downplay a post election “insurgent vacuum”. The fear is that as soon as Americans leave Baghdad will crumble. The White House is of course covering all that up and drowning it out with “we’re ending the war” statements as it is an election year and Democrats are set to lose big.

With the withdrawal of combat troops in Iraq it will leave the total number of service members in theater in both Iraq and Afghanistan at 146,000 opposed to January 2009 where 177,000 troops were on the ground. It’s not really a huge difference but it is a start and hopefully the beginning of an end to any involvement in both war zones. Now if only there was an aircraft carrier with a mission accomplished banner for Obama to use!