President Barack Obama declared the US combat mission in Iraq officially over today in a move likely to hearten war-weary Americans despite political deadlock among Iraqis and more violence.
Mr Obama, in a 15-minute address from the Oval Office, was to make the case that the removal of all but 50,000 US troops and the end of the combat phase shows he has carried out a key promise of his 2008 presidential campaign.
But Americans are also looking to Mr Obama for leadership on boosting the sagging US economy and some analysts were questioning his foreign policy focus this week - Iraq and the Middle East - at a time of fears of a double-dip recession.
White House aides made clear Mr Obama would talk about the US economy in the context of the drawdown from Iraq.
"He feels it's very important to refocus resources that we've been spending abroad over the last several years into investing in our economy and our long-term competitiveness here at home," said Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser.
Mr Obama visited the US army base at Fort Bliss, Texas, today to celebrate the milestone but stressed his Oval Office speech should not be seen as a "victory lap." "It's not going to be self-congratulatory. There's still a lot of work that we've got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us," Mr Obama said.
The White House wanted to avoid any comparisons between Mr Obama's speech and the May 2003 speech by President George W. Bush when he declared major combat operations over in Iraq in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner only to see violence skyrocket in the months and years afterward.
Mr Obama, who opposed the war from the start, telephoned Mr Bush from Air Force One and they spoke for a few minutes about Iraq, the White House said without giving details.
Republicans were waiting to hear whether Mr Obama would give credit to Mr Bush for launching a US troop surge in 2007 that they and many military commanders credit for helping to turn around the war.
"Though most Democrats still cannot bear to admit it, the war in Iraq is ending successfully because the surge worked. In 2007, President George W. Bush finally adopted a strategy and a team in Iraq that could win," Republican Senator John McCain wrote in the Wall Street Journal on today.
Mr Bush launched the war over suspicions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. Almost a trillion dollars have been spent and more than 4,400 US soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the 2003 invasion.
A CBS News poll this month found that 72 percent of Americans now believe the war was not worth the loss of American lives.
Mr Obama hopes the fulfillment of his pledge will resonate with Americans ahead of the November elections in which his Democrats are struggling to keep their majorities in the US Congress.
But high unemployment and slowing economic growth have eclipsed the war as the top issue in voters' minds, much as the economy did in 2008 when Mr Obama prevailed over Mr McCain in the presidential election.
The address, scheduled for later tonight, will be Mr Obama's second from the Oval Office. The president used the same high-profile venue in June to discuss his administration's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
As Mr Obama prepared to deliver his speech, US Vice President Joe Biden was in Iraq to assure Iraqis the United States is not abandoning them. He met with prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and president Jalal Talabani.
Mr Biden's talks took place amid a political deadlock almost six months after an inconclusive election in March over forming the next government. That message was echoed by a senior US intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who told reporters he was more worried about the lack of political reconciliation than the threat from Iran or al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Defense secretary Robert Gates warned that "al-Qaeda in Iraq is beaten, but not gone." "This is not a time for premature victory parades or self-congratulations, even as we reflect with pride on what our troops and their Iraqi partners have accomplished," he said.
The roughly 50,000 US soldiers still in Iraq are moving into an advisory role in which they will train and support Iraq's army and police.
The effective change on the ground will not be huge because the US military has already been switching the focus toward training and support over the past year. Mr Obama has promised to pull all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
Iraqi security forces have been taking the lead since a bilateral security pact came into force in 2009. US soldiers pulled out of Iraqi towns and cities in June last year.
Nevertheless, Iraqis are apprehensive as US military might is scaled down, especially amid the political stalemate.
The impasse has raised tensions as politicians squabble over their share of power and insurgents carry out attacks aimed at undermining faith in the domestic security forces.
Reuters