Bringing the troops home. It was a promise Barack Obama made while campaigning for President, and now, less than three years into his first term, President Obama is keeping yet another promise.
He made it official today by announcing that all American troops remaining in Iraq will be home for the holidays. He thanked them for a job well done and promised them all the benefits they have earned in serving their country.
Of the 39,000 troops in Iraq, about 150, a negligible force, will remain to assist in arms sales, a U.S. official told CNN. The rest will be out of Iraq by December 31.
The president said he was making good on his 2008 campaign pledge to end a war that has divided the nation since it began in 2003 and claimed more than 4,400 American lives.The announcement also came after talks that might have allowed a continued major military presence broke down amid disputes about whether U.S. troops would be immune to prosecution by Iraqi authorities.
