Biden: Mission accomplished in Iraq
Published: July 6, 2010
Most of the news focus on Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Iraq this weekend focused on his efforts to broker a deal between political factions whose infighting has stalled the seating of a new government there. But Biden also had a message for U.S. troops still in the country: mission accomplished.
"I said last August of this year that we will have achieved two goals," he told troops at a naturalization ceremony on Sunday. "We will have helped Iraq’s leaders set the conditions for a sovereign, stable and self-reliant nation for future generations of Iraqis within a year, and we will have ended our combat mission here after more than seven years. And I’m proud to report that because of you, and tens of thousands of our sons and daughters, including our son, we’ve made good on that promise."
U.S. forces are scheduled to end the combat mission in Iraq by Aug. 31, and the total U.S. force will have dropped from 140,000 to under 50,000 in President Barack Obama's first 19 months in office. Of course, the number of troops in Afghanistan has risen by 70,000 over that same time frame, muting the impact the Iraq drawdowns can have on the overall operational tempo.
Biden also emphasized that the end of the combat mission doesn't mean an end to U.S. involvement in Iraq. In fact, U.S. troop levels are expected to hover around 50,000 for at least another year, before moving towards a total removal of American forces by the end of 2011.
"For those of you who remain, your safety and security has been and always will be the number one priority for the President and me and for the general officers of this United States military," he said. "And we promise, we make the commitment that we will keep, that everything you need to complete your mission will be available to you."
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