President Barack Obama announced Friday all U.S. servicemembers will be pulled out of Iraq by January 1. The war has been one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history. (Read more from Home Post Blog)
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Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011.
"After nearly nine years," said the president, "America's war in Iraq will be over."
He spoke at the White House after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision.
The American withdrawal by the end of 2011 was sealed in a deal between the two countries when George W. Bush was president. Obama declared the end of the combat mission earlier this year.
