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(AP) - Declaring "I have come to speak to
you about how the war in Iraq will end," President Barack Obama on
Friday moved to fulfill the defining promise of his campaign,
saying all U.S. combat troops will be withdrawn by the end of
August 2010.


      But in the same speech before Marines and military leadership
here, he announced that the vast majority of those involved in the
pullout will not leave this year. Obama also said that tens of
thousands of U.S. personnel will remain behind afterward.


      "The most important decisions that have to be made about Iraq's
future must now be made by Iraqis," the president said at the
sprawling Camp Lejeune, N.C., base, which is about to deploy
thousands of troops to the U.S.'s other war front, in Afghanistan.


      Senior Obama administration officials had said earlier that of
the roughly 100,000 U.S. combat troops to be pulled out of Iraq
over the next 18 months, most will remain in the war zone through
at least the end of this year to ensure national elections there go
smoothly. 

The pace of withdrawal means that although Obama's
promised pullout will start soon, it will be backloaded, with most
troops returning in the last few months of the time frame.


      And even after the drawdown, a sizable U.S. force of 35,000 to
50,000 U.S. troops will stay in Iraq under a new mission of
training, civilian protection and counterterrorism.


      With most Americans telling pollsters they believe the long,
costly, divisive war was a mistake and more than 4,250 Americans
killed there, the Aug. 31, 2010 end date for Iraq war combat
operations is slower than Obama had promised voters as a candidate.
The timetable he pledged then would have seen combat end in May
2010.


      Regardless, it is a hastened exit, something Obama called a
necessity, both for the future of Iraq and to allow the U.S. to
refocus its attention more firmly on Afghanistan.


      "America can no longer afford to see Iraq in isolation from
other priorities: we face the challenge of refocusing on
Afghanistan and Pakistan; of relieving the burden on our military;
and of rebuilding our struggling economy and these are challenges
that we will meet," he said.


      Obama applauded the military for its role in an improved
situation in Iraq, where violence is down significantly in Baghdad
and most of Iraq and U.S. military deaths have plunged.


      He also acknowledged that many problems remain in the country
and said "there will be difficult days ahead."


 Those include
violence that will remain "a part of life," political instability
and fundamental unresolved questions, a large displaced and
destitute citizenry, tepid support for Iraq's fragile government in
the neighborhoods and the stress of declining oil revenues.


      But, the president said the U.S. cannot continue to try to solve
all Iraq's problems.


      "We cannot rid Iraq of all who oppose America or sympathize
with our adversaries," he said. "We cannot police Iraq's streets
until they are completely safe, nor stay until Iraq's union is
perfected. We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put
a strain on our military, and will cost the American people nearly
a trillion dollars."


      He emphasized that an end to the war does not mean the U.S.
plans to withdraw from its interests in the region. He promised
intensified diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.
      

"The end of the war in Iraq will enable a new era of American
leadership and engagement in the Middle East," Obama said.


      War critics were ready to hear Obama's public words, which came
just three weeks shy of the war's 6-year anniversary.


      But the size of the force to be left behind after the
combat-troop drawdown didn't please leaders of Obama's own
Democratic Party, who had envisioned a fuller withdrawal. 

Obama
personally briefed House and Senate members of both parties about
his intentions behind closed doors Thursday.


      "When they talk about 50,000, that's a little higher number
than I had anticipated," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said,
echoing many others.


      Republican Sen. John McCain, who lost the presidential election
to Obama, offered his support for the president's plan while saying
that the residual force would still go on combat patrols alongside
Iraqis. 

"They'll still be in harm's way," he said in an
interview. "There's no doubt about it."


      Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers in the White House
briefing that ground commanders in Iraq believe the plan poses only
a moderate risk to security, McCain said.


      Obama also on Friday notified two key figures of his pending
announcement: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and, minutes
before taking the podium, former President George W. Bush.


      From the Jan. 20 start of his presidency to his deadline for
ending the combat mission, Obama has settled on a 19-month
withdrawal. He had promised the faster pace of 16 months during his
campaign but also said he would confer with military commanders on
a responsible exit.


      Officials said Thursday that the timetable Obama ultimately
selected was the recommendation of all the key principals -
including Gates and Mullen. The timeline was settled on as the one
that would best manage security risks without jeopardizing the
gains of recent months.


      In any case, the last of any kind of U.S. troop must be out of
Iraq no later than Dec. 31, 2011. That's the deadline set under an
agreement the two countries sealed near the end of Bush's
presidency. Obama has no plans to extend that date or pursue any
permanent troop presence in Iraq.


      With 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, Obama plans to withdraw most
of them; the total comes to roughly 92,000 to 107,000, based on
administration projections.


      Administration officials spoke about Obama's Iraq decision under
condition of anonymity to discuss details of the strategy ahead of
the announcement.


      They said Obama would not set a more specific schedule, such as
how many troops will exit per month because he wants to give his
commanders in Iraq flexibility.


 "They'll either speed it up or
slow it down, depending on what they need," said one official.


      Yet the officials made clear Obama wants to keep a strong
security presence in Iraq through a series of elections in 2009,
capped by national elections tentatively set for December. 

That
important, final election date could slip into 2010, which is
perhaps why Obama's timetable for withdrawing combat troops has
slipped by a few months, too.


      The officials said that Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American
commander in Baghdad, wanted flexibility around the elections.


"The president found that very compelling," one said.


      The senior administration officials sought to describe Obama's
decision-making process as one that was not driven by his political
promise to end the war. They said he consulted extensively with his
military team while interagency government teams reviewed the
options.

Gallery

President Obama outlines plan for Iraq troop withdrawal

Declaring "I have come to speak to
you about how the war in Iraq will end," President Barack Obama on Friday announced that  all U.S. combat troops will be withdrawn by the end of August 2010.

Obama: U.S. combat in Iraq to end in 18 months

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