White House: US pullback important step forward

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that “Iraq’s future is in the hands of its own people,” warning of more violence in the days ahead but signaling optimism that Iraq will prevail as a stable, sovereign nation.

“The Iraqi people are rightly treating this as a cause for celebration,” Obama said, marking Tuesday’s withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from all Iraqi cities. “The future belongs to those who build, not to those who destroy.”

He added: “There’s more work to be done but we’ve made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable Iraq.”

Obama noted the milestone as he spoke at a White House on service organizations. Earlier, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said U.S. commanders in Iraq are confident in Iraqi security forces’ ability to assume control of urban areas.

Obama pledged that the U.S. will “be a strong partner to the Iraqi people.” But he pointedly challenged Iraq’s leaders to “make hard choices” that will build political progress, advance economic opportunity and increase security. He predicted new flare-ups in violence, citing the “senseless bombing” in a crowded outdoor market in the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday that killed more than two dozen people.

“Make no mistake,” Obama said, “there will be difficult days ahead.”

Gibbs also said that Vice President Joe Biden will now oversee the administration’s Iraq policy, “working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place, but needs to take place.”