. >> we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-republican linet 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. this is an extraordinary achievement. >> he did not declare victory, in stark contrast to a predecessor whose moment was painfully premature. the iraq war may have begun with a devastating show of u.s. firepower, which soon toppled the one-man regime, but america lost 4,500 lives to a stubborn insurgency and could only watch as the new iraq descended into a sectarian free-for-all. as a young state senator, barack obama had called it a dumb war, but political opponents say the real stupidity is in ending america's role before the job is done. >> it is clear that this decision and a complete pullout of the united states troops from iraq was dictated by politics and not our national security interest. i believe that history will judge this president's leadership with scorn and disdain that it deserves. the iraq that ame