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Fiercely opposed to the war from the start,
President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq
after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday
night: "It is time to turn the page." Claiming no victory, he
said the nation's most urgent priority now must be fixing its own
sickly economy.


      From the Oval Office, where George W. Bush first announced the
invasion that would come to define his presidency, Obama addressed
millions who were divided over the war in his country and around
the world. He said the United States "has paid a huge price" to
give Iraqis the chance to shape their future - a price that now
includes more than 4,400 dead, tens of thousands of troops wounded
and hundreds of billions of dollars spent since March 2003.


      In a telling sign of the domestic troubles weighing on the
United States and his own presidency, Obama turned much of the
emphasis in a major war address to the dire state of U.S.
joblessness.


      In his remarks of slightly less than 20 minutes, only his second
address from the Oval Office, Obama looked directly into the TV
camera, hands clasped in front of him on his desk, family photos
and the U.S. and presidential flags behind him.


      Even as he turns control of the war over to the Iraqis - and
trying to cap one of the most divisive chapters in recent American
history - Obama is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan. He
pledged anew that the United States would keep up the fight in that
war, the longest since Vietnam.


      And in Iraq, for all the finality of Obama's remarks, the war is
not over. More Americans are likely to die. The country is plagued
by violence and political instability, and Iraqis struggle with
constant shortages of electricity and water.


      Obama is keeping up to 50,000 troops in Iraq for support and
counterterrorism training, and the last forces are not due to leave
until the end of 2011 at the latest.


      As the commander in chief over a war he opposed, Obama took
pains to thank troops for their sacrifice but made clear he saw the
day as more the marking of a mistake ended than a mission
accomplished. He spoke of strained relations with allies, anger at
home and the heaviest of wartime tolls.


      "We have met our responsibility," Obama said. "Now it is time
to turn the page."


      To underscore his point, Obama said he had telephoned called
Bush, whom he had taunted so often in the 2008 campaign, and he
prominently praised the former Republican president in the heart of
his speech.


      "It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its
outset," Obama said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's
support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to
our security."


      In a post-Sept. 11, 2001, world, the Iraq war began with
bipartisan congressional backing - based on what turned out to be
flawed intelligence - over what Bush called a "grave danger" to
the world posed by Saddam Hussein.


      Now, Iraq is in political turmoil, its leaders unable to form a
new government long after March elections that left no clear
winner. The uncertainty has left an opening for insurgents to pound
Iraqi security forces, hardly the conditions the U.S. envisioned
for this transition deadline, which Obama announced 18 months ago.


      Obama pressed Iraq's leaders anew, saying it was time to show
urgency and be accountable.


      Obama sought both to assure his own nation that the war was
finally winding down and yet also promise Iraq and those watching
across the Middle East that the U.S. was not simply walking away.


      "Our combat mission is ending," he said, "but our commitment
to Iraq's future is not."
      

Gallery

Fiercely opposed to the war from the start,
President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq
after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday
night: "It is time to turn the page." Claiming no victory, he
said the nation's most urgent priority now must be fixing its own
sickly economy.


Obama: US combat in Iraq over, 'time to turn page'

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