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Many US Troops Home in a Year: Obama

President sees Iraqis ready to handle own security

By Laurel Jorgensen, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 1, 2009 7:33 PM CST

(Newser) – President Obama promised today to bring a "substantial" number of troops home from Iraq before next year's Super Bowl, MSNBC reports. In an interview with Matt Lauer, Obama said Iraq's smooth provincial elections this weekend ensured the homecoming. He disclosed no details, but said he plans to “roll out in a very formal fashion what our intentions are in Iraq as well as Afghanistan" in the coming days.

“We are in a position to start putting more responsibility on the Iraqis, and that’s good news for not only the troops in the field but also their families, who are carrying an enormous burden,” Obama said.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi policeman stand guard outside a polling center during the country's provincial elections in central Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

An ISAF soldier with the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) uses a picture of his family as a bookmark on a flight in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Deryk Simmons, 27, from Huntsville, Ala., stands guard during a patrol with Iraqi police on the outskirts of Mosul. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S. soldiers wait for a flight at the airfield in Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

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Barack Obama talks football, troop levels with Matt Lauer. (msnbc)

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Many US Troops Home in a Year: Obama