Obama announces troop withdrawal |
February 26, 2009: Newly elected President Barak Obama announced the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 in a speech. At the time of the announcement, there were 41,000 troops in Iraq, down from 170,000 at the war’s height in 2006.[1] In his speech, Obama said that the decision was part of a larger strategy to move away from international conflicts. He declared, “After a decade of war, the nation we need to build and the nation we will build is our own.”[2]
In his presidential campaign, Obama promised to put an end to the conflict in Iraq, saying, “As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. So today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year.”[3] Leaders from both parties were in general agreement with Obama’s plan, a rare occurrence in a time when every military decision is highly scrutinized and controversial.
Obama said that the new focus of troops in Iraq would be to educate and train Iraqi military to protect civilians and continue the fight against terrorism. The war has already killed 4,000 US troops and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians. The United States has spent $806 million on the conflict thus far.[4] After eight years of Bush’s Internationalist strategy, Obama is changing the foreign policy landscape by transitioning out of the middle east and bringing troops home.
[1] "Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq." The White House. The White House, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/21/remarks-president-ending-war-iraq>.
[2] Bendery, Jennifer. "Obama Announces Iraq Troops Will Be Withdrawn By End Of 2011." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/obama-iraq-troop-withdrawal_n_1024108.html>.
[3] Bendery, Jennifer. "Obama Announces Iraq Troops Will Be Withdrawn By End Of 2011."
[4] "Obama Sets Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal, Calling It Part of Broader Middle East Strategy." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022700566.html>.
In his presidential campaign, Obama promised to put an end to the conflict in Iraq, saying, “As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. So today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year.”[3] Leaders from both parties were in general agreement with Obama’s plan, a rare occurrence in a time when every military decision is highly scrutinized and controversial.
Obama said that the new focus of troops in Iraq would be to educate and train Iraqi military to protect civilians and continue the fight against terrorism. The war has already killed 4,000 US troops and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians. The United States has spent $806 million on the conflict thus far.[4] After eight years of Bush’s Internationalist strategy, Obama is changing the foreign policy landscape by transitioning out of the middle east and bringing troops home.
[1] "Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq." The White House. The White House, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/21/remarks-president-ending-war-iraq>.
[2] Bendery, Jennifer. "Obama Announces Iraq Troops Will Be Withdrawn By End Of 2011." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/obama-iraq-troop-withdrawal_n_1024108.html>.
[3] Bendery, Jennifer. "Obama Announces Iraq Troops Will Be Withdrawn By End Of 2011."
[4] "Obama Sets Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal, Calling It Part of Broader Middle East Strategy." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022700566.html>.