Marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, President Obama said Tuesday night that America would continue supporting Iraq’s government while also looking to refocus its energies on the U.S. economy and the war in Afghanistan.
“The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people,” Obama said in an address from the Oval Office. “… Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.”
The U.S. combat mission in Iraq officially ended at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, more than seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Roughly 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq until the end of 2011 to train, assist and advise Iraqi troops; such troops could remain beyond that if Iraq requests it and the United States agrees.
Obama praised American troops for their “enormous sacrifices in Iraq” and said the country “spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home.” Though attacks across Iraq continue and leaders are struggling to form a coalition government after recent elections, Obama said attacks are at “near the lowest level on record” since the war began, and Iraq is in position to shape its own future.
Donna Brazile, Roland Martin, Ari Fleischer, Erick Erickson, Jessica Yellen and Anderson Cooper analyze voter turn out and if there is an enthusiasm gap amongst the GOP and Democrats. Sphere: Related Content
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Source: Corbett B. Daly / CBS News CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. Businessman Herman Cain is now atop the field of Republican White House hopefuls, squeaking past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. Cain garnered 25 percent support of Republican primary voters in the poll released on Tuesday, compared to Romney’s 21 percent. To read this article in its entirety [...]
Source: Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the birther issue was worth “keeping alive” in a CNBC interview Tuesday morning. “It’s a good issue to keep alive. It’s fun to poke at him,” said Perry, according to host John Harwood. Perry also spoke evasively about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate in an interview with Parademagazine published over the weekend. When asked if he believed the president was born in the United States, he said, “I have no reason to think [...]
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