(CNN) — President Barack Obama on Friday announced that virtually all U.S. troops will come home from Iraq by the end of the year — at which point he can declare an end to America’s long and costly war in that Middle Eastern nation.
“After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over, Obama said. “The coming months will be a season of homecomings. Our troops in Iraq will definitely be home for the holidays.”
Of the 39,000 troops in Iraq, only about 150, a negligible force, will remain to assist in arms sales, a U.S. official told CNN. The rest will be out of Iraq by December 31.
Obama said he was making good on his 2008 campaign pledge to end a war that has divided the nation and claimed more than 4,400 American lives.
He spoke with Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki in a video conference Friday and said both nations were comfortable with the decision on how to move forward.
The new partnership with Iraq will be “strong and enduring,” Obama said.
