Having made 13 visits to Iraq and held steady conversation with Iraqi leaders over the past two years, the Vice President was as well qualified as just about anybody to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars as combat operations there draw to a close. But there is also another reason this time is so meaningful to him:
These homecomings are something I have long looked forward to, and I know many of you have as well. The day my son Beau returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq, and I watched him embrace his wife and children, was one of the proudest and happiest moments of my life. By the end of next year—2011—our remaining troops in Iraq will have come home to their families and a grateful nation. This is only possible because of the extraordinary progress our military—the finest fighting force this planet has ever seen—has brought about, led by the great General Ray Odierno.
"President Obama laid out our plan for ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and we have followed that plan very closely," said the Vice President. "As a result, one week from tomorrow, U.S. combat forces will phase out their combat mission…. More than 140,000 troops in Iraq on Inauguration Day — by the end of August, 50,000 remain. Our last remaining — applaud them, they deserve it — our last remaining combat unit, one that I know personally well from visiting them in Fort Lewis, to be there as they mourned their dead, to being with them and in their vehicles in Iraq. The 4th Stryker Brigade of the Army’s Second Infantry Division, that last unit across the border out of Iraq."
Fonte: White House