President Obama's opening remarks were a litany of praise to those veterans from each of America's wars and conflicts, leading into the announcement that on August 31, 2010 America's combat mission in Iraq would be over.

The President was greeted with applause and cheers when he spoke in front of the Disabled American Veterans association as he thanked veterans of all stripes for their service.  The speech focused exclusively on issues important to veterans and disabled veterans like PTSD, homelessness, suicide, and health-care.  President Obama assured veterans that his health-care bill wouldn't affect the care they receive, revealing that in the fall a new website for veterans will allow them to download and print off their medical records for use outside of VA hospitals whenever they want.

It seems appropriate that the President would announce both the upgrades to veterans health records and the end of combat operations in Iraq to the DAV.  The United States has been in a steady state of war for over nine years in two countries, with over one million people having served in Iraq alone.  The numbers of dead are far outstripped by the numbers of wounded, although no less tragic, let alone the dead and wounded from the first Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea, and WWII, which is why Veterans Affairs is such an important department for any White House. 

Back in 2008, then Senator Barack Obama ran on a platform of ending the war in Iraq, which he emphasized was going to be a responsible ending of the war, meaning a staged withdrawal to protect the troops and the region.  And, despite the problems this year with Iraqi elected officials having trouble forming a government, it appears that the deadline of August 31, 2010 is going to work, although 50,000 troops will remain for training purposes until the end of 2011.

It is an important announcement for the Obama administration as criticism of the war in Afghanistan has heated up over the past month, although he steadfastly defended the war in Afghanistan which drew cheers from the crowd.  The administration won't call it nation building because for some reason that's a dirty word in politics, but that's what they are doing over there after the strategies success in Iraq.  The difference being that in Iraq there was an established political class, middle class etc., to build on, whereas in Afghanistan the situation is much different.  It's just too bad that the previous administration ignored Afghanistan, instead sending resources and funding to Iraq in what turned out to be a terrible decision.

This of course brings up once again the question of whether or not the much talked about draw down of forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2011 actually means a draw down, or if it was a date chosen to placate anti-war voters.  Considering Vice President Biden recently walked back the idea of a firm 2011 date to pullout, joined by Secretary of Defense Gates, and the President himself saying that the date is simply for a review of conditions on the ground, makes it fairly obvious that the U.S. will have a presence in the region until its safe.

In any event, the President came through on his promise to end the wear in Iraq, which should make everyone a bit happier.

Watch the President's remarks below (for some reason the feed cut out at the 25 min mark on both CNN and MSNBC so the end of the speech is cut off):