US troops to leave Iraq by year end: Obama

Marks end of nine years of war,leaves scope for troop negotiation

MARK LANDLER

President Obama said Friday that the last US soldier would leave Iraq by the end of the year,bringing to an end a nearly nine-year military engagement that cost the lives of 4,400 troops and more than $1 trillion,divided the American public,and came to define USs role in the world.

Obama said that as of January 1,2012,the US and Iraq would begin a normal relationship between two sovereign nations,and equal partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

In a videoconference on Friday morning with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,Obama told him of the administrations decision,which grows out of an inability of the US and Iraq to come to an agreement on leaving a few thousand military trainers in the country.

The US had earlier agreed to exit Iraq by the end of the year and leave 3,000 to 5,000 troops in Iraq as trainers,with some members of Congress advocating for retaining a reduced fighting force as well. But after Iraqs Parliament refused a US demand to give soldiers immunity from legal prosecution,the Pentagon changed its plans in recent weeks,scaling back even that meager number.

Obama appeared to leave open the possibility of further negotiations on the question of military trainers,saying,As I told Prime Minister Maliki,we will continue discussions on how we might help Iraq train and equip its forces again,just as we offer training and assistance to countries around the world. After all,there will be some difficult days ahead for Iraq,and the US will continue to have an interest in an Iraq that is stable,secure and self-reliant. Obamas announcement fulfills a pledge that the president made during the 2008 campaign to wind down the war.

After nearly nine years,Americas war in Iraq will be over, Obama declared in the White House briefing room shortly before 1 pm. Over the next two months,our troops in Iraq,tens of thousands of them,will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home. They will be joining approximately 1,00,000 others,he added,who have already been withdrawn from the country. Obama placed the announcement in the context of a broader ebbing in USs military engagements abroad. Declaring that tide of war is receding, the president noted the death of Col. Muammar Gaddafi in Libya,which augurs the end of the NATO operation there,as well as the transition in Afghanistan to Afghan security.