I opposed going to war in Iraq.

Senator McCain was one of Washington’s

biggest supporters for the war.

I warned that the invasion of a country

posing no imminent threat would fan the flames of extremism

and distract us from the fight

against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Senator McCain claimed that we would be greeted as liberators,

and that democracy would spread across the Middle East.

Those were the judgments we made

on the most important strategic question

since the end of the Cold War.

Now is the time for a responsible redeployment of our combat troops

that pushes Iraq’s leaders towards a political solution,

rebuilds our military,

and refocuses on Afghanistan and our broader security threats.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq,

as we were careless getting in…

We can safely redeploy our combat brigades

at a pace that would remove them in 16 months.

After this redeployment,

we will keep a residual force to perform specifics missions in Iraq,

targeting any reminisces of Al Qaeda,

protecting our service members and diplomats,

and training and supporting Iraq’s security forces

so long as the Iraqis make political progress.

True success will take place

when leave Iraq to a government

that is taking responsibility for its future,

a government that prevents sectarian conflict,

and ensures the Al Qaeda threat

which has been beaten back

by our troops does not remerge.

We will commit two billion dollars

to a meaningful international effort

to support the more than four million displaced Iraqis.

We will forge a new coalition

to support Iraqis’ futures,

one that includes all of Iraq’s neighbors,

and also the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union,

because we all have a stake in stability,

and we will make it clear that the United States

seeks no permanent bases in Iraq.