Obama to Announce That 'American Combat Mission in Iraq Has Ended'

 

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tue, August 31, 2010 -- 7:12 PM ET
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Obama to Announce That 'American Combat Mission in Iraq Has Ended'

Praising the courage and resolve of the American troops in
Iraq and saying the human and financial price showed selfless
sacrifice, President Obama will declare tonight that "it is
time to turn the page" toward pressing problems at home.

"The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of
Iraq in the hands of its people," he says in excerpts
released early this evening, just before a speech from the
Oval Office that is scheduled for 8 p.m. "We have persevered
because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people -- a
belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be
born in this cradle of civilization."

But the excerpts suggested that Mr. Obama wanted to use the
event, marking the end of the formal combat mission in Iraq,
to pivot toward the economic problems that persist at home.

Watch Mr. Obama's speech on the home page of NYTimes.com live
at 8 p.m. ET.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/world/01military.html?emc=na