Obama Will End Iraq War in Late 2010
The Iraq war will come to an end on Aug. 31, 2010, senior officials said, following President Obama’s decision to end all counter-insurgency missions by that time.
Obama told top leaders in Congress on Thursday that he will transition the mission in Iraq to training, advising and engaging in limited counter-terrorist operations, according to congressional sources.
Obama’s decision reflects his belief that “there have been real advances” in the country and, as result, the U.S. military should now be ordered to carry out “a fundamental change in mission,” senior administration officials said.
And the war, senior officials said, will officially come to an end on Aug. 31, 2010, when the president orders all U.S. troops to focus their efforts on advising, equipping and training Iraqi security forces as well as assisting in reconstruction and political reconciliation.
The president will order U.S. military commanders to leave a residual force of between 35,000 and 50,000 troops in Iraq.
The president reached his decision after 12 advisory group meetings on Iraq and 10 inter-agency meetings since Inauguration Day.
The president and his advisers have kept the Iraqi civilian leadership informed about internal U.S. deliberations on troop withdrawals, administration officials said.
To underscore the president’s desire to end combat and counter-insurgency missions, officials said after Aug. 31, 2010, there will be no brigade combat teams or brigade combat teams in Iraq.
If security conditions in Iraq deteriorate in the coming months the president “retains the flexibility” to slow down or reverse troop withdrawals.
A portion of the 35,000 to 50,000 remaining troops will be combat-ready and will be ready to deploy in counter-terrorism missions.
Senior officials would not say how large the counter-terrorism force will be, but said it would be well under half the remaining troop strength.
Overall, the size of the remaining U.S. force was “driven by the mission,” officials said.
U.S. troops will begin leaving Iraq this spring and the numbers of returning troops will grow during the summer, officials said.
A sizable number of troops will remain in Iraq to provide security and training as the country prepares for regional and sub-regional elections this spring and national elections in December.
Source: FOX News
