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    October 21, 2011

Obama: All US Troops to Leave Iraq by Year's End

   VOA News
   President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House
   in Washington address the status of U.S. forces in Iraq, October 21,
   2011.
   Photo: AP
   President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House
   in Washington address the status of U.S. forces in Iraq, October 21,
   2011.

   U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that all U.S. troops will be
   withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year.
   The president made the statement Friday after a videoconference with
   Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
   In remarks in the White House press briefing room, Obama said, "Our
   troops in Iraq will definitely be home for the holidays." He said he
   and Maliki were in agreement on that decision.
   Obama said the U.S. relationship with Iraq will enter a "new phase"
   based on mutual interest and mutual respect. He said the U.S. will
   partner with an Iraq that contributes to regional security and peace,
   and he added that Washington expects other nations to respect Iraq's
   sovereignty.
   Previously, the possibility had remained that U.S. troops would extend
   their presence in the nation past the December 31 deadline set in 2008.
   Obama and Maliki had been negotiating that issue.
   The war in Iraq, begun in March 2003, is one of the longest military
   conflicts in U.S. history. More than 4,400 U.S. troops have died in the
   conflict.

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

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