President Obama: Facts and Figures on Drawdown in Iraq

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="People on an observation platform watch and wave as President Barack Obama arrives at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Ga., Aug. 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)"][/caption]
On February 27, 2009 in Camp Lejeune, President Barack Obama said: “Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.”

Last week, while on TV show, The View, Obama reiterated: “We are ending combat operations in Iraq this month.”


When President Obama started his presidency in January 2009,U.S troops in Iraq numbered 144,000. By January 2010 that number was reduced to 112,000 soldiers; by the end of May 2010, that number had been further reduced to 88,000.


Today the White House announced:

"By the end of August 2010, the number of U.S. troops in Iraq will be further reduced to 50,000. On August 31, Operation Iraqi Freedom will end. The transitional mission will be called Operation New Dawn. Consistent with our agreements with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of 2011."

But it does not mean, that there will be no more attention on Iraq. It only means, that the communication will be more civilized:

"The reduction in troops does not mean a reduction in the U.S. commitment to Iraq – it means a change in the nature of our commitment from one led by the military to one that is civilian-led. The transitional force that we will have in place can continue to support Iraqi Security Forces.  And we will strengthen the U.S. and Iraqi partnership in fields such as education, the rule of law, trade and technology.  To guide the expansion of our relationship, the United States and Iraq signed a Strategic Framework Agreement, which specifies areas for dialogue, exchanges, links, and the transfer of expertise."

Not only the troops will be reduced, the number of military bases in Iraq will be reduced too.

As part of the drawdown in Iraq, U.S. forces are also closing or transferring military bases in Iraq. U.S. Forces occupied 357 bases as of June 2009. At the time of this writing that number had been reduced to 121 bases already and by the end of August, there should only be 94 U.S. bases left in Iraq.

Unfortunately the war in Afghanistan has not ended yet.