After nine years us to withdraw troops from Iraq

The departure of U.S. forces has raised questions among some analysts about the possibility of increased violence in Iraq again

NATO also announced the end of their training mission, following the refusal to grant immunity from Iraqi law to international troops.

 

The U.S. president, Barack Obama , said Monday that "t flush almost nine years, the war in Iraq just this month , "but insisted that" our strong presence in the Middle East continues, America will never relent in their support of our allies ".

 

Obama held a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, with whom he met for over an hour to address the future of Iraq at the conclusion of this month the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

 

The left our troops Iraq is sovereign, and democratic self- assured U.S. President to leave Iraq U.S. troops is "sovereign, self-sufficient and democratic" , and warned that after the departure of his soldiers "other countries should not interfere in Iraq ".

 

The departure of U.S. forces has raised questions among some analysts about the possibility of a further increase in violence in Iraq or a neighboring Iran’s attempt to take advantage of a power vacuum and increase its influence among the majority Shiite population.

 

Maliki: ‘Cooperation will continue "

 

For his part, Maliki said the withdrawal of U.S. troops, of which about 6,000 are still in their country , does not mark the end, but "the beginning" of the relationship between the two countries and noted that his country will maintain its cooperation with the U.S..

 

Three out of four Americans support the withdrawal of troops from Iraq is the first meeting between the two since Obama announced last October to the military presence in Iraq, to the failure to reach an agreement with Baghdad to maintain beyond 31 December, a contingent of several thousand soldiers.

 

The meeting was the first act in a week that Obama wants to focus on the recent withdrawal of U.S. troops remaining in Iraq and mark the end of the war, a promise on which he based his election campaign in 2008 and whose compliance, predictably, want to highlight in 2012.

 

Surveys suggest that three out of four Americans support the withdrawal, an initiative that has also found broad support in the Arab country

 

NATO ends on training Iraqi troops

 

The joint press conference the two leaders comes at the same time, in which NATO has announced that it will end its mission of training Iraqi forces on 31 December when the current mandate ends.

 

"An agreement to extend this successful program has proved impossible despite the negotiations carried out for weeks, "he said in a statement the secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen . According to various sources, contacts between the organization and the authorities in Baghdad to continue the operation of training is blocked by the refusal to grant legal immunity from Iraqi troops to international.

 

The NATO mission in Iraq began in 2004 at the request of Iraqi authorities this year, the U.S. has already announced the withdrawal of its troops in Iraq after the failure of talks to the troops enjoyed immunity, to which Baghdad he refused. Despite announcing the end of the mission, NATO has stressed that it remains "fully committed" to continue to cooperate with Iraq .

 

"We are determined to build on the successes and the spirit of our training mission to further strengthen our partnership and our relationship with Iraq policy," said Rasmussen. The Danish politician said that peace and stability in the country are "beneficial to the entire international community."

 

The NATO mission in Iraq began in 2004 at the request of Iraqi authorities and is considered "a success" by the Alliance. "Our trainers can be very proud of those who have achieved over the past seven years, contributing to the ability of Iraqi security and helping to develop a more sustainable and multi-ethnic forces," Rasmussen said today.

 

According to the organization, the mission has trained over 5,000 military personnel and more than 10,000 police in Iraq and has provided the country with over 115 million in military equipment.