Peter Baker, Atlanta
August 4, 2010 - 3:00AM
UNITED States President Barack Obama has launched a month-long drive to mark the end of the combat mission in Iraq and blunt growing public frustration with the war in Afghanistan by arguing that he could also end that conflict.
As a new opinion poll found the decline in support for the war in Afghanistan contributed to the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, more Americans now support his handling of the economy than the war.
Mr Obama is in the thick of a volatile national security debate as he draws down troops from one theatre and sends more to the other.
In a speech to an American veterans' group Mr Obama vowed to fulfil his plan to withdraw designated combat forces from Iraq by the end of August ''as promised and on schedule'', even though a political impasse has left Baghdad without the permanent government his strategy had envisioned.
Mr Obama's speech coincided with the release of a USA Today Gallup Poll that found public support for his Afghan war policy has plummeted amid a rising US toll and the unauthorised release of classified military documents.
Support for Mr Obama's management of the war fell to 36 per cent, down from 48 per cent in a February poll. A record 43 per cent also said it was a mistake to go to war there after the terrorist attacks in 2001.
Having once called the Iraq war ''dumb'' and having run for president pledging to end it, Mr Obama wants to take credit for ending the mission while praising the troops' achievements. He said: ''Because of the sacrifices of our troops and their Iraqi partners, violence in Iraq continues to be near the lowest it's been in years.''
The President's renewed public focus on the wars comes after months in which the spotlight has been on his domestic agenda. But the White House calculated that the drawdown in Iraq and the change in mission there this month provided an opportunity to take credit for fulfilling one of Mr Obama's central campaign promises.
''As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end,'' Mr Obama said. ''Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. I made clear that by August 31, 2010, America's combat mission in Iraq would end and that is exactly what we are doing, as promised and on schedule.''
Mr Obama vowed to destroy al-Qaeda in Afghanistan while sticking to ''clear and achievable'' goals rather than aspiring to build a functioning democracy.
The drawdown will bring the US force in Iraq to 50,000 troops by August 31, down from 144,000 when Mr Obama took office. The remaining ''advise and assist'' brigades will officially focus on supporting and training Iraqi security forces, protecting US personnel and facilities, and mounting counter-terrorism operations.
The US mission will change its name from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn, and 50,000 transitional troops are to leave by the end of 2011, in accordance with a deal negotiated by former president George Bush.
NEW YORK TIMES, MCT
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/world/obama-in-new-drive-on-iraq-exit-20100803-115ds.html
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