Almost six years after the invasion of Iraq, the end is finally in sight for America's involvement in its longest and bloodiest conflict since Vietnam. Barack Obama yesterday set out a timetable that will see all US combat units out by summer next year and the remainder by the end of 2011.
Obama said yesterday that "by any measure, this has already been a long war". It had cost the US 4,425 dead, divided the country and cost it friends abroad. For Iraq, the death toll is unknown, in the tens of thousands, victims of the war, a nationalist uprising, sectarian in-fighting and jihadists attracted by the US presence.
Obama flew from Washington yesterday morning to Fort Lejeune, North Carolina, to deliver his speech in front of 8,000 marines. He told them it was going to be a speech with far-reaching consequences: "Today, I have come to speak to you about how the war in Iraq will end."
Of the 142,000 US troops in Iraq, between 92,000 and 107,000 are to leave by August next year. The mission at that point will change, from combat to one that deals primarily with training Iraqi forces, supporting the Iraqi government and engaging in counter-terrorism.
His delivery contrasted with the premature celebrations of President George Bush (right) almost six years ago when, shortly after the invasion, he spoke on an aircraft carrier beneath the now infamous banner reading 'mission accomplished'.
He had gone to North Carolina to bury the biggest and most divisive issue of the Bush era, the failed neo-conservative experiment to create a model Arab country that would be a beacon for the rest. He did that with the words: "Let me say this as plainly as I can - by August 31 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."
In doing so, Obama fulfilled one of the central pledges of his election campaign.
He aimed his words at those at home who long ago lost faith in the war and at those Iraqis who do not believe the US will really ever leave. He hoped the US departure from Iraq would herald "a new era of American leadership and engagement in the Middle East", changing the way the world sees the US,
Most of Obama's speech was aimed at an American audience, in particular the armed services. He said they had completed their tasks with honour. And he spoke with sadness of an America that will take a long time to come to terms with the legacy of Iraq, of the names of the dead commemorated in town squares and highways and etched on the white stones at Arlington cemetery.
But he also had words for the Iraqis, saying that the US had done its bit and now it was time for the Iraqis to take responsibility. In contrast with the model democracy the neocons had envisaged, Obama said he would have to settle for a less than perfect Iraq when the US pulled out.
"We cannot rid Iraq of all who oppose America or sympathise with our adversaries. 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 said.
"America's men and women in uniform have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future. Now, we must ask the Iraqi people to seize it"
To try to counter Iraqi suspicions that the US is intent on keeping bases in the country to safeguard oil supplies and influence the Iraqi government, Obama said: "So to the Iraqi people, let me be clear about America's intentions. The United States pursues no claim on your territory or your resources."
The prospect of 50,000 staying, even if only for another year, produced dismay among the Democratic leadership in Congress. The speaker, Nancy Pelosi, briefed by Obama on Thursday night, protested:"I don't know what the justification is for ... the 50,000 troops in Iraq. I would think a third of that, maybe 15,000 or 20,000."
But the plan was welcomed by Republicans, including John McCain, who had opposed early withdrawal."Overall it is a reasonable plan and one that can work and I support it," he said.
The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, who had served in the post under Bush and was kept in office by Obama, introduced an element of doubt to the president's insistence that all US troops will be gone. Talking with reporters after the speech, Gates said he would like a "some very modest-sized presence for training and helping" Iraqi forces after 2011, but only if the Iraqi government requested this and there was no indication that it would.
Many of the marines listening to Obama, and who responded with only polite applause, apart from when he promised a pay rise, are to be deployed in another and growing war, Afghanistan.
Afghanistan next
Many of the troops in Iraq are to be re-deployed to Afghanistan. The US has 36,000 troops in Afghanistan but the situation is deteriorating fast, with the Taliban gaining control over large swathes of territory.
In anticipation of more violence with the arrival of spring, Obama this month despatched 17,000 more troops, and is expected to send the same number again later this year. Marines, who regard themselves as purely combat units, had been pushing for transfer from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Obama wants other Nato countries to take a bigger share. If they don't more US troops could be Afghanistan-bound.
