Iraq War

As the U.S. enters the eighth year of combat in Iraq, there is a sign of relief. The military is pressing forward toward President Obama's deadline of Aug. 31, when two-thirds of our troops will be withdrawn. Up to 50,000 Marines and soldiers could remain another 16 months.

It's not the clean break that many of us had wished for. But a much-anticipated moment, never the less.

From the speech:

Today, U.S. troops withdrew from urban areas in Iraq. It is a momenteous moment, but hardly time to break out the champagne.

Yes, it signals a change in our involvement there. But, as Great Britain's Winston Churchill said when the London bombings ceased, "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning."

The I-35W Mississippi River bridge catastrophically failed during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, collapsing to the river and riverbanks beneath. Thirteen people were killed and approximately one hundred more were injured. The average age of American bridges is 43 years, approaching the normal lifespan of 50 years. One fourth have a problem.

Barack Obama says "we should seize this moment" as Iraq Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki calls for a timetable for the removal of American troops.

In a July 14, 2008, New York Times opinion piece, "My Plan for Iraq," Obama outlines his ideas for "phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States."

He goes on, "The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops."

Obama's strategy is detailed. He writes, "As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in."

His plan would get troops out of Iraq by the summer of 2010. Some forces would continue limited missions to restrict any Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protect American service members "and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces."

He notes, "That would not be a precipitous withdrawal."

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We're heading into a watershed moment on Iraq. This September, General Petraeus will give his long-anticipated status report on the escalation and Congress will hold a huge vote on whether to set timelines to end the war. If there was ever a time to step up the pressure, this is it. So, we're making August one of the biggest-ever months of local action to end the war.