Facts and Figures on Drawdown in Iraq “Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.” - President Barack Obama, Camp Lejeune, February 27, 2009. The White House has put out a report today called Facts and Figures on Drawdown in Iraq which reexamines the mission of the Iraq war. The report comes on the day the president spoke at a Disabled Veterans of America event in Atlanta today. The report states that w hen President Obama took office in January 2009, there were 144,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. At his Camp Lejeune speech on February 27, 2009, President Obama announced that the United States would end its combat mission on August 31, 2010, and retain a transitional force of up to 50,000 U.S. troops to train and advise Iraqi Security Forces; conduct partnered and targeted counter-terrorism operations; and protect ongoing U.S. civilian and military efforts. By January 2010, there were 112,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. By ...
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