Maya Alleruzzo / AP Photo
President Obama has announced that all American troops in Iraq will return to the U.S. by the end of the year. "After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over," Obama said in a press conference at the White House, adding that most U.S. troops will be "home for the holidays." In a telephone conference this morning, the president confirmed the news with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, with whom the U.S. is now in "full agreement" to move forward with the drawdown. Officials from both countries had since discussed keeping U.S. troops there to train security forces against potential Iranian terror plots. However, the Pentagon changed its mind after Iraqi political leaders refused to grant U.S. troops legal immunity in Iraqi courts. Obama noted that he'd vowed to end the war in Iraq during his 2008 election campaign. The fact that he kept that promise will be a crucial appeal to voters during his difficult 2012 reelection campaign.