微豆2011年大事回顧 Haricot's Review of 2011 Events: Iraq War's Endgame; US Troops Home for Xmas!!

Wikipedia / Withdrawal of US Troops from Iraq

August 2010 partial withdrawal

On 19 August 2010, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division was the last US combat brigade to withdraw from Iraq. About 50,000 US troops will remain in the country in an advisory capacity. According to the US, they will help to train Iraqi forces in a new mission dubbed by the US as "Operation New Dawn," which will run until the end of 2011. The mission that ended 19 August 2010 was dubbed by the US as "Operation Iraqi Freedom," at a projected cost of more than $900 billion and 4,415 US troops killed in action. Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians were estimated to be killed, according to the Iraq Body Count website. President Obama announced the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in his Oval Office address on 31 August 2010.

Full withdrawal

With the collapse of the discussions about extending the stay of any U.S. troops, President Obama announced on 21 October 2011, the full withdrawal of troops from Iraq as scheduled before. The U.S. will retain an embassy in Baghdad and two consulates with around 4,000 to 5,000 State Department employees. President Obama and al-Maliki outlined a broad agenda for post-war cooperation without American troops in Iraq during a joint press conference on 12 December 2011 at the White House. This agenda includes cooperation on energy, trade and education as well as cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, economic development and strengthening Iraq's institutions. Both leaders said their countries will maintain strong security, diplomatic and economic ties after the last U.S. combat forces withdraw at the end of 2011.

President Barack Obama paid tribute to the troops who served in Iraq on 14 December 2011, at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. As the last of the American troops prepared to exit Iraq, he said the United States was leaving behind a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant" Iraq. On 15 December, an American military ceremony was held in Baghdad putting a formal end to the U.S mission in Iraq. Only 4,000 U.S troops remain in Iraq and they are scheduled to leave by the end of the year. The latest 500 soldiers left Iraq to Kuwait under cover of darkness and under strict secrecy. All American troops would be home for Christmas, but at least 4,000 soldiers will remain in Kuwait for some months. The US troop withdrawal from Iraq was completed on December 18, 2011 on a early Sunday morning.

維基百科 / 伊拉克戰爭結束:

"...... 2010年8月18日，最後一批駐伊美軍戰鬥部隊已跨越伊拉克與科威特的邊境，伊拉克戰爭正式結束。 美國在單方面宣布戰爭正式結束後，截至2011年10月仍然在伊拉克保留3.4萬人以上的軍隊，負責保護美軍基地和訓練親美伊拉克政府的安全部隊。襲擊美軍也不斷發生，截至2011年8月伊拉克什葉派回教軍事組織宣布暫停攻擊、以幫助美軍完全撤離之前，仍有每月仍有至少一名美軍在襲擊中喪生。美軍與伊政府談判2012年延長駐軍合約時，希望保留3000人以上駐軍並希望未來美國駐軍不受伊拉克法律管轄，未獲伊政府同意。因此美國時任總統奧巴馬於10月22日宣布，美在伊拉克駐軍將於2011年底前全部從伊拉克撤除。此時美軍在伊拉克喪生人數已達4476人，並且在宣布完全撤軍後，又增加1人。

2011年12月13日，美國總統奧巴馬在接見來訪伊拉克總理馬利基時宣布，「在近9年後，我們在伊拉克戰事本月落幕」，並宣稱美國是伊拉克「強大和永久的夥伴」。12月15日，駐伊美軍部隊在巴格達舉行降旗儀式，美國國防部長帕內塔出席儀式，這標誌着歷時九年的伊拉克戰爭正式全面結束，剩餘的數千名美軍士兵將在未來幾天內陸續撤離回國。在2011年12月18日週日清晨，美國從伊拉克撤軍完成。...."