President Obama has announced on Friday that by year’s end, all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq.
By declaring the end of the Iraq war, this marks the end of one of the longest conflicts in our history, The Associated Press reports.
"I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," President Obama said. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."
Obama made the announcement after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The leaders had agreed on the decision.
“After a decade of war the nation that we need to build and the nation that we will build is our own, an America that sees its economic strength restored just as we've restored our leadership around the globe,” he continued.
One-hundred thousand troops have already been withdrawn from Iraq, and by January 1, the rest will return home "with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing that the american people stand united in our support for our troops,” CBS News reports.
As a presidential hopeful, Obama promised to end the war.
Watch the president speak below: