On August 31, 2010, sitting President Barack Obama, officially ended combat operations in Iraq declaring "a new beginning" and that "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over." He offered high praise to the men and women in uniform who had sacrificed so much in this "historic moment."
The effort had come at a high price with more than 4,400 U.S. troops killed and thousands more that were wounded during the operation. President Obama stated, "Ending this war is not only in Iraqi's interest; it is in our own." The United States had paid a huge price to place the future of Iraq in the hands of their own people. The young men and women had made huge sacrifices and had spent large resources at a time of tight budgets at home.
As the military winded down, civilian diplomats, advisors and aid workers would then step in to help the Iraqi government strengthen it's institutions and ties with the region and the world. Though the violence wouldn't stop with the end of U.S. combat operations, Iraq now had the will and capability to stand up to their enemies.
With the drawdown in Iraq, it now allowed the U.S. the necessary resources to go on the offensive against the surging forces in Afghanistan and the time to break the Taliban's momentum in that area of the world.
"It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States intends to strengthen our leadership in this young century," Obama concluded.
On August 31, 2010, sitting President Barack Obama, officially ended combat operations in Iraq declaring "a new beginning" and that "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over." He offered high praise to the men and women in uniform who had sacrificed so much in this "historic moment."
The effort had come at a high price with more than 4,400 U.S. troops killed and thousands more that were wounded during the operation. President Obama stated, "Ending this war is not only in Iraqi's interest; it is in our own." The United States had paid a huge price to place the future of Iraq in the hands of their own people. The young men and women had made huge sacrifices and had spent large resources at a time of tight budgets at home.
As the military winded down, civilian diplomats, advisors and aid workers would then step in to help the Iraqi government strengthen it's institutions and ties with the region and the world. Though the violence wouldn't stop with the end of U.S. combat operations, Iraq now had the will and capability to stand up to their enemies.
With the drawdown in Iraq, it now allowed the U.S. the necessary resources to go on the offensive against the surging forces in Afghanistan and the time to break the Taliban's momentum in that area of the world.
"It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States intends to strengthen our leadership in this young century," Obama concluded.