In February of 2009, President Obama announced his plan to withdrawal all troops from Iraq. Combat forces will begin to be withdrawn by August 2010, while all forces are expected to be withdrawn by December 2011.
According to The New York Times article “With Pledges to Troops and Iraqis, Obama Details Pullout,” the majority of the 142,000 troops currently in Iraq will be withdrawn by the summer of next year. A total of 35,000 to 50,000 troops will remain to train and advise Iraqi security forces.
Though many in DC and the entire nation are pleased with the plan to bring troops home from an expensive, and unsuccessful, war, the plan is not without its critics. Nancy Pelosi, House speaker, argues leaving up to 50,000 troops until the end of 2011 to train Iraqi forces is too large of a figure.
Still, the plan marks the beginning of the end of an unnecessary war, and for that, there is much justification to be pleased with the withdrawal plan.