• A war is ending. A new day is upon us. And let us never forget those who gave us this chance: the untold number of Iraqis who’ve given their lives; more than 1 million Americans, military and civilian, who have served in Iraq; nearly 4,500 fallen Americans who gave their last full measure of devotion; tens of thousands of wounded warriors and so many inspiring military families. They are the reason that we can stand here today. And we owe it to every single one of them, we have a moral obligation to all of them to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.
• President Obama • In remarks to the press pool, joined by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Obama has pledged that U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year, saying in October that “our troops in Iraq will definitely be home for the holidays.” The U.S. presence in Iraq is not, however, going away completely — while some 8,000 active duty military personnel are returning home, along with nearly 5,000 private military contractors, the U.S. embassy in Iraq still boasts a personnel staff of 15,000, making it the largest U.S. embassy in the world. Obama has said he intends to cut that number substantially, but that given Iraq’s situation immediately following the war, the embassy’s security staff will by necessity remain higher than most. source

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