the next question is is iraq ready? is the parliament ready to work together there in iraq? 's going to be the million dollar question. when you speak to iraqis in certain part of the country, there's no doubt a great deal of capacity and capability, which means the iraqi army, iraqi internal security forces have the ability to maintain, preserve law and order, but more importantly defend iraq's borders. that's the real test. iraq right now remains fragile politically and militarily. and over the course of the last several years, the american military has withdrawn from major cities to the outskirts of major urban areas allowing the iraqi forces to stand up on their own two feet. we can say attacks have diminished but not gone away completely. the ability of iraqi forces to prevent attacks is still somewhat question. there's no doubt the capacity is better, they have gotten more equipment and technical assistance from the american military. once this begins, the drawdown begins, how capable will the iraqi army and the internal security fors forces be to sta on their own two f

the u.s. stay in iraq if the government supports iran? e don't continue to empower. >> but senator, they're aligned with iran as far as syria is concerned. al maliki's government is supporting ahminedjad's stance towards al assad in syria, so why would the u.s. retain any troops? >> wolf, we're only going to further empower iran by pulling our troops out. 14,000 contractors that are going to remain in iraq. this is an unprecedented undertaking by our secretary of state's department and we're going to have a civilian army in iraq either way, but without the military training who are going to have to make sure that our personnel are secure. >> who's going to pay for all those contractors? >> well, u.s. taxpayers. >> why not the iraqis? they're exporting a lot of oil. >> it would be nice to have iraq do that. >> you're a senator, you could take -- >> i certainly will hold -- >> to stop u.s. taxpayer money for funding these contractors. >> i'll certainly hold iraq accountable, but one of the issues they have with contractors, to engage in the

and the end of the iraq war. ow libya, gadhafi has had an end of his life almost as bizarre as the life that he had. he was beaten up yesterday by -- by rebels. he was shot by the rebels, ultimately executed by the rebels. today those rebels have put gadhafi's body in a refrigerated meat locker in a shopping center and are allowing people in in small groups, 10, 15 at a time to view his body which has been put on a bloody mattress. he was pulled out of a drain pipe and now put in a refrigerated container. this is the person who ruled libya for 42 years and lived in palaces. so, it has been a remarkable turn of events, one that sends shockwaves across the middle east. in searya, tyria the protesterst on the streets today saying the syrian president is next. >> obviously the reaction from leaders is to clamp down because they know whether won't be a fire trial or justice for a deposed dictator. >> they don't want to end up in that refrigerated locker. >> exactly. incredible events. the politics of this, we are in an

the world all u.s. troops are leaving iraq by the end of the year. tonight, the risks of leaving and what the president didn't say about the decision. >>> steve jobs. a first look at the untold story he left behind. the controversial choices he made about fighting his cancer. >>> and making a difference. a restaurant where you don't have to pay if you can't. the famous face behind it and the inspiration he found right here on this broadcast. the inspiration he found right here on this broadcast. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. i'm kate snow in tonight for brian. after nine years of bloody war costing thousands of american lives and hundreds of billions of american dollars, president obama says it is ending. the last american troops in iraq are packing up and getting out by the end of the year. home, he says, in time for the holidays. it was march of 2003 when president george w. bush announced the start of the war against iraq with shock and awe. saddam hussein's rule soon collapsed. the pres

the american people don't want to keep troops in iraq. the iraqi people don't want us to keep troops in iraq. who is the constituency for us to keep troops in iraq? that is the gop primary field. that is channeling some part of the american political culture that says we should do that. >> i think the question is do we not want this to happen again? >> right. then the answer i think has to be far more fundamental. it seems to me that the foundations of american foreign policy and its attitude towards the world needs to be challenged and not to see this in sort of these episodic sort of readings where we have the bush era and the obama era. if you were to look at the last 100 years of america's engagement with the world, it is informed largely by fear or exploitation in my view. if these effects are to be changed, we need to talk about that. >> i think that's a really important point. just to echo it, on my radio show back in denver, you are talking to callers every day. every so often i mention the fact that if you look at at least the las

that's the reality in iraq. our continuing to stay there takes the political leadership off the hook. they have to do the things necessary to lead to a more stable iraq and an iraq that helps the rights of religious minorities. we cannot enforce that or impose that on them and keeping more troops there is not the way to do it after nine years. we have to accept that responsibility and understand that nobody else can make the decisions but themselves. >> final question sir. what are the thoughts for those who paid the ultimate price? >> that's where the thoughts must be. i'm grad they emphasized that. we pate a heavy price and the american military are unbelievable. i am amazed and so proud every day. that kind of pride in them will continue forever and never be diminished by differences over policies. once that decision was made, it was made democratically and deceptive at times and the decision was made. once the decision was made democratically by congress, the american people and the congress supported our tro

the war in iraq is over. it's over. >> as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. >> after eight long years and the loss of almost 4500 american lives -- >> america's war in iraq will be over. >> the president declares the war in iraq is at an end. >> our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. >> we cover every angle, ahead. . >>> the tight of war is receipting. all american troops will be with drawn from iraq by the end of this year. from the briefing room, he explained his decision. >> as of january 1st and in keeping with our strategic agreement with iraq, it will be a normal relationship between sovereign nations and based on mutual interest and respect. >> operation iraqi freedom has been at considerable cost to the nation. over 4,400 u.s. military kill and 32,000 wounded, including over 1,000 amputees, all at a cost of american taxpayers of $712 billion. in his remarks the president made it clear he intends to end involvement in afghanistan in the

the president of iraq, the talibani, the prime minister of iraq, mr. maliki, has spent years in iran. they were funded by iran. they speak fluently. they have close relations with the leader of the qods force, so the idea that they would not have some kind of close connection and the way in which the united states entered this almost plindly assuming that because we were the liberators and we were getting rid of a bad guy, all of iraq would rise in our support. just shows that there was both a strategic and a tactical level a game very badly played and now we are reaping the rewards of that or the consequences of that. i don't think there was much the obama administration would do at this point, because -- and there were many forces within iraq that did want to do the deal with united states, just not enough. and so we face a situation where we will have to redouble our efforts politically and diplomatically. but i tell you something, in this part of the world, wolf, there's nothing -- nothing helps soft power more than hard power. in other words, if yo

so today i can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. across america, our servicemen and women will be reunited with their families. today, i can say that our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. >> president obama's announcement today comes as he indicated nearly nine years after president george w. bush announced the invasion of iraq. >> the people of the united states and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. we will meet that threat now with our army, air force, navy, coast guard and marines so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities. now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. and i assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory. >> the iraq war has cost the united states over $700 billion.

the jury still out on that one. iraqpretty, even a fragile democracy beats a dictatorship. on the bigger promised used to sell the war politically and gl gl globally, the truth is clear new york weapons of mass destruction. not a penny from iraq's oil riches. instead more than $800 billion in u.s. tax dollars. not weeks or months of war, but nine years. and in that time more than 1 million americans have served in iraq, of those nearly 4,500 paid the ultimate price. >>> up next, bloody, new video raises questions about the libyan government story about how moammar gadhafi died.tr sfor. it's the second career you always wanted. today's the day! and i've been looking forward to this for a long time. it's gonna be a big change. you ready? wow! just what i hoped for! just what you planned for. thanks! [ male announcer ] we're making people the tomorrows they always dreamed of. what can we make with you? transamerica. transform tomorrow. ♪ oh, beautiful ♪ for spacious skies ♪ ♪ for amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ for purple mountain

president bush deployed 20,000 more american troops to the war in iraq to give the iraqi government the breathing space to stabilize. so that a political resolution in iraq could be reached and then ultimately the troops could come home. that was the idea. now, the catastrophic violence in iraq declined a bit, but as far as a stable government, that didn't happen. that still hasn't happened. iraq had a parliamentary election last year and took nine months for them to form a government. nine months of grinding political stalemate. but while the troop buildup was going on in iraq in 2007, and into 2008, back home here in the united states, two very important things were going on. first, senator barack obama, the man famous for that anti-iraq war speech, he was running for the democratic presidential nomination. and at the center of his argument for why he should be president was the promise that he'd end the war. he ran for president successfully as the anti-iraq war candidate. the other important thing back here at home happened with very little notice. before leaving office, president b

the times. not a single question on iraq. the ultimate numbers next year will probably be diminished from the numbers that some had anticipated. is there anything you can tell us about how that negotiation is going now? in the best guess on to win the defense authorization bill will be on the floor? >> the first answer is easier than theecond. [laughter] amazing to be able to say that a qution about iraq is an easier question to handle then the defense authorization bill. that is the situation in the u.s. senate. in terms of a iraq, apparently the discussions continue. i think we should make a clear that there is a finite point where we have to say, ok, this is not going to work and we are going to pull our forces out including the trainers that we are willing to keep their, providing that we can protect them from being covered by -- been prosecuted under an iraqi law. we will not allow our troops to be put in that situation. that is the sticking point apparently. i do not think it is a good idea for us to be pleading with ira

foreign policy has been off the radar. iraq and troop withdrawal is important, but at the end of the day, it is economy. the president if he has gone on the bus tours and used the bully bull pit to emphasize two things. i'm on it with the economy and part of that is we have a jobs bill. the second part is obstructionism. the gop every step of the way, they vote everything down. even bits and pieces that are gop friendly. what can we do? we are trying to get a handle on the economy and move things ahead. we are trying to put people back to work. we are trying to really get things going on the job and the economic front and we have so many opponents on the other side. the president has turned it back around with harry truman. >> we greatly appreciate it and will be talking with you both. much more ahead. thank you. coming up, we will get the latest from libya and the fight over gadhafi's body. and we are learning the is being kept in a commercial freezer. people are allowed to go in and get a glimpse of the man who was once their

division north, the military did, up in northern iraq. it leaves the u.s. eported last weekend that a one brigade that was supposed to be one of the very last to pull out of iraq was actually coming home early and some of the family members told us then that the reason they were giving for why the troops were coming home early was because the u.s. and iraq had not been able to reach an agreement. so the move is already on. i mean we've seen massive convoys, 400 trucks, 14,000 pieces out at a time where there's just been a massive exodus of material out of the country. >> all right, chris lawrence, thank you very much for filling us in on the breaking news, as well as wolf blitzer and anthony shadid, we thank you very much for all of you participating. we'll have more on this breaking news story. but the bottom line here, u.s. troops pulling out of iraq by the end of the year. more after the break. >>> we're following the breaking news story. the headline here virtually all u.s. troops are going to be out of iraq by the end of the year. that is the current st

the u.s. mission in iraq over. politically speaking, any of this really going to resonate in the general election next year? >> this definitely qualifies, i you would agree, in the who would have thunk it category. a president running for reelection, and foreign policy will be an asset for him in this race. most americans will see most of this record as being strong. the problem is, as you suggest, that the economy is likely to completely overshadow all other issues. so at the margin, yes, this will help him. it will be a calling card. a way to seem presidential next to the republican nominees. i think his fate will turn on whether voters believe he has a plan to lead us toward better times economically. >> you have a great article. rocky territory about colorado. >> the entire mountain west which has become, as you saw, increasingly contested terrain for both parties. it used to be reliably republican. in 2008, when colorado, nm, because of his difficulty with oriole white vote here's are concentrated in the midwes

nine years the president says all u.s. forces will leave iraq by january a draw down of the estimated 40,000 troops on the ground. >> the next two months our troops in iraq, tens of thousands, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home. the last american soldier will cross the borders out of iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing the american people stand united in our support for our troops. >>trace: the united states innovated iraq in 2003 and since then 4,000 american troops have died. some 30,000 have been hurt. according to the department of justice, the war has cost this country roughly $135 million. a day. today, president obama calls the mission a "success," but did not mention the failed negotiation whether several thousand u.s. forces would remain in iraq beyond this year. and chief fox correspondent is live for us in new york with more on that, but, first, ed henry is live at the white house. in some ways this isn't a huge surprise. >>reporter: that is right, not a surprise. this presi

>> pelley: tonight, president obama declares an end to the war in iraq. >> at promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. >> pelley: david martin and norah o'donnell on the cost of the war for americans and what may be ahead. the body of a once-feared dictator becomes a public spectacle. what's next for libya? allen pizzey and elizabeth palmer are there. wyatt andrews on america's largest private employer cutting health care benefits. whose will be next? and steve hartman with a doctor who's healing what ails a great american city. >> anything else you need tonight? >> just a hug. (laughter) captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, the day has come. on day 3,139 of the war in iraq, president obama announced it's over. american troops will be home by the end of the year. the war began as a hunt for weapons of mass destruction which were never found. then the u.s. found it in the middle of a civil war, caught between two branches of islam. on this historic day, we have reports from david mart

on day 3,139 of the war in iraq, president obama announced it's over. american troops will be home by the end of the year. the war began as a hunt for weapons of mass destruction which were never found. then the u.s. found it in the middle of a civil war, caught between two branches of islam. on this historic day, we have reports from david martin and norah o'donnell. first david, who's at fort bragg, north carolina. >> reporter: good evening, scott. fort bragg is the home of the 82nd airborne which currently has 3,500 troops in iraq. they'll all be home for the holidays, because today the president pulled the plug on negotiations that could have kept some american troops in iraq past the end of the year. >> the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> reporter: for better or worse, the military operation which began with shock and awe in march of 2003 and descended into the mayhem of civil war is really going to end, even though both americans an iraqis agree there

iraq. barack obama's campaign for president began with his opposition to the war in iraq. well, today, without the embellishment of a self-serving mission accomplished banner, president obama announced all american troops will be out of iraq by the end of the year. >> after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> wow. well, the president made the announcement one day after the killing of moammar gadhafi. that strengthened his bona fides on foreign policy and allowed him to say to the republicans, essentially, go ahead, try to oppose me on this one. plus, castro convertible. maybe we now know why senator marco rubio keeps insisting he's not a candidate for vice president. rubio has dined off the story that his parents fled fidel castro's cuba. now we learn they fled batista's cuba, years before castro took power. rubio's explanation, such as it is, simply doesn't pass the sniff test. how does he survive this history? also, herman cain is against abortion rights. no, wait, he's for them. well, actually, he's for them and he's against them. or maybe it's the

have ended in the battle of iraq the united states and around. half prevailed. yeah in fact i actually got the impression from watching last week's republican presidential debate that the iraq war was going so swimmingly that the rocky people actually owed us money for our efforts cutting back on foreign aid is one thing being reimbursed by may sions that we have liberated is another we should look to iraq and libya to reimburse us for part of what we have done to liberate these nations. all right i get it the whole role of the republican party is to disagree with obama no matter what he says and does but i think that maybe they should spend a minute or two trying to get on the same page here i mean are we winning the war are we losing the war i'm just so confused and of course easy for rick santorum come out now say that we lost the war that he's champion for so many years because he simply gets the blame it on obama we have a president who was not able to set conditions and actually have the kind of influence over the iraqi government now three

the big story. american troops in iraq will be home for the holidays.resident obama announced the end of the 8 and a half year war and pullout of 40,000 soldiers. >> as promised the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> i would have announced this big drawdown so enemy can position themselves up there. >> renewed violence of continued iranian penetration into iraq. >> more than 3400 american -- 4400 have been killed and 32,000 have been wounded. cost of the war has been more than $700 billion. >> heavy metal music may not be everyone's taste but in some places it's illegal. heavy metal artists are threatened with prison time. now a report on an east bay musician trying to rescue them. >> this is heavy metal via tehran, iran. as a 23-year-old being a heavy metal musician made him a target of his own government. >> if you are walking on the streets, and metal t-shirt you pose a risk. >> he says he was beaten pretty badly after an arrest but instead of taking off th

with the war in iraq ending her husband will be home just in time for the holiday. >> reporter: with giggles and smiles, it's almost as if 7-month-old indiana knows her father will soon be coming home. army reservist first last joshua chapman in iraq since august. his wife brandy, thrilled. >> my first reaction is yippee. to have him home early because obviously he was looking at like 400 days or something. >> reporter: with president obama's announcement that all troops will be withdrawn from iraq, chapman should be back in the bay area just in time for the holidays. no low key christmas is planned any more. >> just want to have a big sh shindig. just celebrate. it's really big. >> reporter: soon no more constant worrying. >> i feel, i guess, lucky in a sense that i didn't have to be away from my husband that long, but i mean it's hard. i mean it really, really is hard. >> reporter: she says she's talked to her husband about the withdrawal and he says soldiers' morale have picked up and are ready to pack up and head out. now this wife is just waiting. >> now that you know they are is

iraq. barack obama's campaign for president began with his opposition to the war in iraq. well, today, without the embellishment of a self-serving mission accomplished banner, president obama announced all american troops will be out of iraq by the end of the year. >> after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> wow. well, the president made the announcement one day after the killing of moammar gadhafi. that strengthened his bona fides on foreign policy and allowed him to say to the republicans, essentially, go ahead, try to oppose me on this one. plus, castro convertible. maybe we now know why senator marco rubio keeps insisting he's not a candidate for vice president. rubio has dined off the story that his parents fled fidel castro's cuba. now we learn they fled batista's cuba, years before castro took power. rubio's explanation, such as it is, simply doesn't pass the sniff test. also, herman cain is against abortion rights. no, wait, he's for them. well, actually, he's for them and he's against them. or maybe it's the other way around. cain's self-cont

that's actually the deal the u.s. and iraq agreed to that set out the time line for u.s. troops to be out of iraq by the end of this year. >>> at five minutes past the hour, let's turn to libya. we're getting more details about the death of moammar gadhafi. his body is being held in cold storage right now. by that i mean a meat locker in misrata. his burial on hold right now. his family wants the body, but the united nations and two other major human rights groups want an investigation. that's in response to questions about how the former dictator really died. defense secretary leon panetta talked about the operation. >> it was a u.s. drone combined with other nato planes that fired on the convoy. that is a reflection of the partnership that came together in nato and in libya. >> nato plans to scale back operations in libya by the end of this month but won't decide when to end operations altogether until sometime next week. >>> we love the people of the united states, just not the government. that's one of the nuggets we're getting from a new interview with iranian preside

and lost friends in the iraqnd spent a lot of time trying to get iraq right, a great deal of frustration. we've seen that in the last few, few weeks as these discussions lingered and sort of dragged on, and it looked increasingly as though all u.s. troops would be leaving by the end of the year. it looked like those talks were going nowhere for some weeks now. i think there's a great deal of sort of a shaking of heads that this didn't have to happen, the negotiations had been handled better with the iraqi government, we would have a presence that would stay on and that would ensure we don't leave a vacuum there. that's what i've been hearing, certainly, from those who have served in the iraq. but i think there's been an air of resignation from the pentagon as a whole from officials. we noticed a very big change in tone from defense officials like leon pa theta and -- panetta, they were giving a sense of urgency that a decision had to be made over the summer quickly in order for u.s. troops to stay. in recent week

soldiers as the united states continued to have a force in iraq. the president said none of that today at the white house. gloss over the fact that this negotiation was a big part of the decision y. that was? >> i don't think he wanted to focus on that. clearly there were a lot of discussions on that immune etissue. it was a very sticky issue and it seems like they had the discussion and iraq said lessen, we're not going grant that, humanity and you're going to have to be on your own. >> it's friday, there is a lot of talk about the timing on this and the president comes out and makes this announcement. how much did yesterday's event in libya play into this white house wanting to capitalize on the momentum it has on foreign res? >> and there is a lost speculation. i am not so sure there is. if they had this immunity, the thing is whether this is a victory for presume a it's in january and in february, iraq has problems and there are attacks in iraq and that is going to look at the white house and some in the administration wanted to have some remain

because the pentagon strategically decided it was time to get out. iraq is effectively kicking us out by virtue of their refusal to authorize u.s. troops' immunity in their country beyond the end of the year. beyond that point, iraq refused, and so, hey, it sounds like the war is over. president obama says the u.s. is moving forward in a position of strength, but come january 1st, literally, when it comes to iraq and particularly iran's ambitions to project its power into the vacuum left by the loss of saddam hussein, the training wheels will be off. we start with nbc news foreign correspondent, ayman mohyeldin, and retired army colonel, medal of honor recipient, jack jacobs. it's an honor to see both of you. your gut reaction on the news, jack? >> sooner rather than later. save money, save lives. we were coming home in any case, and the president looks quite presidential by saying, we're not putting up with this stuff, we're leaving. >> and your two cents when you look at the dynamic? >> i think it's part of the changing landscape in the middle east, a v