LEAD: Obama tells troops back from Iraq: "Welcome home"

By Anne K Walters Dec 14, 2011, 18:51 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Wednesday marked the imminent end of the United States' war in Iraq by telling soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 'welcome home.'

'As your commander in chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I'm proud to finally say these two words, and I know your families agree, welcome home,' Obama told hundreds of soldiers who have served in Iraq. 'Welcome home! Welcome home! Welcome home!'

Obama lauded the military sacrifices over the nearly nine years since the March 2003 US-led invasion.

'There is something profound about the end of a war that has lasted so long,' he said in an emotional speech praising the actions of US soldiers and marking the symbolic end of the US effort in Iraq.

The last few thousand troops are due to cross out of Iraq by December 31, and the US military has spent the last several months closing its bases and transferring control to the Iraqis.

'Those last American troops will move south on desert sands, and then they will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high,' Obama said. 'One of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the American military will come to an end. Iraq's future will be in the hands of its people. America's war in Iraq will be over.'

However, violence has continued in Iraq, with two car bombs leaving at least two dead earlier Wednesday. Similar car bombings killed 187 people in November, according to the Iraqi government.

The Obama administration has acknowledged that such violence will continue, but notes the progress since the height of violence.

Obama spoke of the long and winding course of the war, noting many of the soldiers he was addressing were just schoolchildren when it began and that he was an unknown Illinois state senator. He spoke of battles in cities like Fallujah and the sectarian violence that tore the country apart, as well as the nearly 4,500 US troops who lost their lives.

'Now, Iraq's not a perfect place,' Obama said. 'It has many challenges ahead. But we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq with a representative government that was elected by its people. We're building a new partnership between our nations. And we are ending a war, not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home.'

White House spokesman Jay Carney has continually pointed out that violence declined after past US drawdowns, such as when troops ended formal combat operations and when they left Iraqi cities.

The president met Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss the US relationship with Iraq moving forward after announcing in October that all US troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year.

He had campaigned for office on a promise of ending the US military presence there and his administration has lauded the withdrawal as a fulfillment of that vow.

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