All American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of December 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama said.
“As we remove our last troops from Iraq, we're beginning to bring our troops home from Afghanistan… So today, I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over,” Obama said on Friday.
Obama assured Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki that the United States would continue to help Iraq and fulfill all its commitments.
“As of January 1st, and in keeping with our Strategic Framework Agreement with Iraq, it will be a normal relationship between sovereign nations, an equal partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect,” said Obama.
The president added that the parties agreed to hold meetings of the joint coordinating committee of the Strategic Framework Agreement and invited Maliki to the White House in December.
About 40,000 American troops are currently stationed in Iraq.
