President Obama Plans to End Iraq War by August 2010

President Barack Obama announced last Friday that the US-Iraq war will finally be over by the end of August 2010. In fact, the declaration was courteously recognized by the US marines at a North Carolina military base.

According to Obama, by August 31, 2010, the combat mission in Iraq will finally come to an end and he is indeed laying out a new war strategy. Moreover, he also intend to withdraw the entire US troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Obama briefed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki along with former US President George W. Bush via telephone in relation to the new plan, shortly before making his speech, according to the White House. And to tell the truth, he was also an early opponent of the Iraq war. The president also said that ending the unpopular war would mean a new era of US diplomacy in the Middle East, which he said will include "principled and sustained engagement" with syria and Iran.

On the other hand, the presidents formally declared the appointment of veteran diplomatic troubleshooter Christopher Hill, who is also the new ambassador to Iraq. And most recently, he is also the one in charge of talks on North Korea's nuclear program. The officials also made it clear that the president's priority is to have fewer troops in Iraq. In other words, more troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

President Obama held a closed-door White House meeting late Thursday, together with congressional leaders including McCain.

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