United States Fighting Operations in Iraq Officially End
03 September 2010
President Obama speaks about the end of American combat operations in Iraq on national television Tuesday
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
American Defense Secretary Robert Gates says history will judge whether the war in Iraq was justified. He spoke during a visit to a military base in western Iraq. Secretary Gates visited the base after President Obama officially declared an end to American combat operations in Iraq. The president made the announcement at the White House earlier this week.
America’s involvement in the armed conflict lasted more than seven years. During the most intense fighting, about 165,000 American soldiers served in Iraq. About 4,400 of the soldiers died in the war. An estimated 100,000 Iraqis were killed. The effort has cost billions of dollars.
The war began in March of 2003. The United States led an international coalition against the government of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. At the time, the American president was George W. Bush. His administration received reports that seemed to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Later, the information proved mistaken. No such weapons were found.
At first, the American-led forces were successful. By May of 2003, President Bush declared that major fighting operations had ended. Coalition troops had occupied Baghdad, and Saddam Hussein had fled.
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