Obama declares end to Operation Iraqi Freedom

American president says “it’s time to turn the page.”

Barack Obama commandeered airtime on five national television networks last night to deliver a live address announcing the end of American combat operations in Iraq. Most American combat troops left the country last week. His speech marked an indecisive end to the war he inherited from he predecessor George W. Bush, with violence still a regular occurrence in Iraq and political reconciliation between the country’s various factions still very much unfinished business. Obama’s speech was actually the second time an American president has declared an end to the fighting. In 2003 Bush famously announced major combat operations were over while a “Mission Accomplished” banner hung behind him.