Washington, Feb 27 (DPA) President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will withdraw most US combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010, sharply reducing the American presence but keeping in place thousands of soldiers till the end of 2011 to support and train Iraqi forces.
Obama plans to keep about 35,000 to 50,000 soldiers in Iraq to help train and equip the Iraqis and participate in special counter-terrorism missions. There are presently more than 140,000 US troops in Iraq.

“Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end,” Obama said at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base in North Carolina. Obama’s timeframe for ending the combat role is three months later than he pledged during the election campaign.

All US forces must leave Iraq by the end of 2011 under the security agreement worked out by the Bush administration last year with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuori al-Maliki. Obama said he intends to stand by that agreement and called on the Iraqi people to take control of their country.

“America’s men and women in uniform have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future,” Obama said. “Now, we must ask the Iraqi people to seize it.”

The security agreement also requires US combat troops to pull out of all Iraqi cities by June.

Obama said the US will remain diplomatically and economically committed to Iraq as the military role shrinks, but also warned that the situation remains fragile despite the sharp reduction in violence that took place under former president George W. Bush’s troop surge.

“Let there be no doubt: Iraq is not yet secure, and there will be difficult days ahead,” Obama said. “Violence will continue to be a part of life in Iraq.”

Reducing the US role in Iraq and shifting focus to conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan has become the top military priority for Obama. A resurgent Taliban has stepped up attacks in Afghanistan, bringing violence to the highest level in years as US and NATO forces struggle to stabilize the country.

Obama has launched a comprehensive review of the two military conflicts and reached his decision after consulting with his top officers, including General David Petraeus who heads the US Central Command, and General Ray Odierno, the top officer in Iraq.

Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, 4,253 American solders have died, according to the Pentagon.