U.S. President Barack Obama said during a Monday speech that the Iraq War will soon be coming to an end, "as promised and on schedule." More than seven years after the highly controversial war in Iraq began (on March 20, 2003, to be exact) and approximately a year and a half after taking office, President Obama now says that the overseas combat mission should be over by the end of this month. Furthermore, all troops are scheduled to be withdrawn from the region by the end of next year, per a 2008 agreement negotiated between the U.S. and the Iraqis. According to Obama, plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq (from 144,000 to 50,000) by August 31st are on schedule. ""The hard truth is we have not seen the end of American sacrifice in
Iraq," said Obama during his speech. "But 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." If plans proceed as scheduled, the troops remaining in Iraq after the end of this month will be dedicated to training and supporting Iraqi security forces. "The message is, when the president makes a commitment, he keeps it," said White House spokesman Bill Burton, but there is some concern that Iraqi security forces will simply not be ready to take over for American forces by the end of 2011. According to figures released this weekend by Iraqi officials, July was the deadliest month in Iraq for over two years. Meanwhile, Obama says that the Afghanistan campaign will proceed, as planned, with a 30,000-troop surge being ordered for a continuing 9-year mission. "If Afghanistan were to be engulfed by an even wider insurgency, al
Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates would have even more space to plan
their next attack," said Obama. "As president of the United States, I refuse to let that happen."
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