Obama outlines U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, war

President Barack Obama said Iraqis will no longer see U.S. troops in their streets "by the end of 2011," which he said was in line with the Status Of Forces Agreement signed between Iraq and the United States.

The troop drawdown has already been started and "by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama told his mostly Marine audience at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. "We will retain a transitional force to carry out three distinct functions: training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq. Initially, this force will likely be made up of 35-50,000 U.S. troops."