Obama announces US troop cut in Iraq

Washington (Prensa Latina)

The United States will reduce gradually its troops in Iraq before August, 2010, President Barack Obama announced on Friday after a visit to Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina.

"Our combat mission in Iraq will finish by August 2010," said Obama, although he recognized that between 35,000 and 50,000 soldiers will remain in the Arab nation, with the mission of tightening security.

The president explained that he would hold periodic meetings with the commanders, and if they think it is appropriate, the plan could change if the situation in Iraq worsens.

He said that although he promised in his campaign to materialize the withdrawal in a 16-month period, he found better to proceed to gradual withdrawal in one and a half year, in the national interest.

At the beginning, the troops that remain in Iraq after August, 2010 will return home before December 31, 2011, when the power transfer to the Iraqis should become a reality. He also said the withdrawal responds to the need to gather efforts in Afghanistan, recover the US economy, and alleviate the burden to families with members in the battle field.

The president also announced a salary rise to the troops, and recognized the existence of consequences of the war, as posttraumatic stress, something that some experts have refused to accept.