The last US combat brigade pulled out of Iraq on August 19, more than seven years after a US-led invasion toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom, the spokesman of the US army, said the 4 th Stryker Brigade under the 2 nd Infantry Division, crossed the border into neighbouring Kuwait ahead of the planned declaration of an end to US combat operations in Iraq by an August 31 deadline.
According to Los Angeles Times, it took three days for 360 vehicles and 1,800 soldiers to travel from Baghdad to the border into Kuwait .
The US is on schedule to cut down its forces in Iraq to 50,000 by August 31. The soldiers staying behind will be on a training mission.
“It is about a transition to a change of mission, going from combat operations to stability operations,” said Major General Stephen Lanza.
The spokesperson of the US Department of State, Philip Crowley, stated that the end to combat operations in Iraq is a “historical moment”. After completing the withdrawal of combat forces, the US ’s mission will be of diplomatic nature, he added.
In a letter run on the White House’s website on August 18, President Obama expressed his pleasure with the conclusion of the US army’s combat mission in Iraq but did not mention the withdrawal of the last combat unit.
On the same day, the US Embassy announced that its new ambassador to Iraq , James Jeffrey, arrived in Baghdad and presented credentials to President of the host country Jalal Talabani./.
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom, the spokesman of the US army, said the 4 th Stryker Brigade under the 2 nd Infantry Division, crossed the border into neighbouring Kuwait ahead of the planned declaration of an end to US combat operations in Iraq by an August 31 deadline.
According to Los Angeles Times, it took three days for 360 vehicles and 1,800 soldiers to travel from Baghdad to the border into Kuwait .
The US is on schedule to cut down its forces in Iraq to 50,000 by August 31. The soldiers staying behind will be on a training mission.
“It is about a transition to a change of mission, going from combat operations to stability operations,” said Major General Stephen Lanza.
The spokesperson of the US Department of State, Philip Crowley, stated that the end to combat operations in Iraq is a “historical moment”. After completing the withdrawal of combat forces, the US ’s mission will be of diplomatic nature, he added.
In a letter run on the White House’s website on August 18, President Obama expressed his pleasure with the conclusion of the US army’s combat mission in Iraq but did not mention the withdrawal of the last combat unit.
On the same day, the US Embassy announced that its new ambassador to Iraq , James Jeffrey, arrived in Baghdad and presented credentials to President of the host country Jalal Talabani./.
