US President Barack Obama formally ended the US combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed, and telling Americans and the world: “It is time to turn the page.”
From the Oval Office, where former US president George W. Bush first announced the invasion that would come to define his presidency, Obama addressed millions who were divided over the war in his country and around the world.
Fiercely opposed to the war from the start, he said the US “has paid a huge price” to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future.
In a telling sign of the domestic troubles weighing on the US and his own presidency, Obama turned much of the emphasis in a major war address to the dire rate of US joblessness.
He said the Iraq war had stripped the US of money needed for its own prosperity, and he called for an economic commitment at home to rival the grit and purpose of a military campaign.
The speech, lasting slightly less than 20 minutes, was only his second address from the Oval Office.
Obama looked directly into the TV camera, hands clasped in front of him on his desk, family photos and the US and presidential flags behind him. His tone was somber.
Even as he tries to cap one of the most divisive chapters in recent US history, Obama is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan. He pledged anew that the US would keep up the fight in that war, the longest once since Vietnam.
In Iraq, for all the finality, the war is not over. More Americans probably will die. The country is plagued by violence and political instability, and Iraqis struggle with constant shortages of electricity and water.
Obama is keeping up to 50,000 troops in Iraq for support as well as counter-terrorism training, and the last forces are not due to leave until the end of next year at the latest. He took pains to thank troops for their sacrifice, but made it clear that he saw the moment more as a mistake ended than a mission accomplished.
He spoke of strained relations with allies, anger at home and a “huge price” of the highest order.
The toll includes more than 4,400 US troops dead and many more Iraqis, tens of thousands more Americans wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars spent.
To underscore his point of ending the divisiveness over Iraq, Obama said he had called Bush, whom he had taunted so often in the 2008 presidential campaign. He prominently praised the former Republican president in the heart of his speech.
“It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset,” Obama said. “Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security.”
Obama pressed Iraq’s leaders, saying it was time to show some urgency and be accountable.
At once, Obama sought to assure Americans that the war was finally winding down, and yet also promise Iraq and those watching across the Middle East that the US was not simply walking away.
“Our combat mission is ending,” he said, “but our commitment to Iraq’s future is not.”
Almost forgotten is the intensity that defined the debate for much of the decade and drove people into streets in protest. Yet what grew out of the war was something broader: Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive force against perceived threats.
Running for office, Obama said the war inflamed anti-American sentiments and undermined US standing in the world in addition to stealing the focus from Afghanistan. He mentioned it again on Tuesday.
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