CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina: President Barack Obama yesterday moved to fulfill the defining promise of his campaign, saying all US combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August 2010.

“I have come to speak to you about how the war in Iraq will end,” Obama declared in his remarks to Marines and military leadership at the North Carolina base.

But in the same speech, Obama announced that the vast majority of those involved in the pullout will not leave this year. Obama also said that tens of thousands of US personnel will remain behind afterward.

“The most important decisions that have to be made about Iraq’s future must now be made by Iraqis,” the president said at the sprawling Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, base, which is about to deploy thousands of troops to America’s other war front, in Afghanistan.

Senior Obama administration officials had said earlier that of the roughly 100,000 US combat troops to be pulled out of Iraq over the next 18 months, most will remain in the war zone through at least the end of this year to ensure national elections there go smoothly.

The pace of withdrawal means that although Obama’s promised pullout will start soon, it will be backloaded, with most troops leaving in the last few months of the time frame.

And even after the drawdown, a sizable residual force of 35,000 to 50,000 US troops will stay in Iraq under a new mission of training and advising Iraqi security forces, providing protection and support for US and other civilians working on missions in Iraq, and targeted counterterrorism.

The Iraq war helped fuel Obama’s presidential bid. Polls show that most Americans think the war was a mistake. At least 4,252 US military members have died in the nearly six years since the United States invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Total Iraqi deaths are unknown but number in the tens of thousands and are perhaps above 100,000.

The Aug. 31, 2010, end date for Iraq war combat operations is slower than Obama had promised voters as a candidate. The timetable he pledged then would have seen combat end in May 2010.

Regardless, it is a hastened exit, something Obama called a necessity, both for the future of Iraq and to allow the US to refocus its attention more firmly on Afghanistan.

“America can no longer afford to see Iraq in isolation from other priorities: We face the challenge of refocusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan; of relieving the burden on our military; and of rebuilding our struggling economy and these are challenges that we will meet,” he said.

Obama applauded the military for its role in creating an improved situation in Iraq, where violence is down significantly in Baghdad and most of Iraq and US military deaths have plunged.

The president named veteran diplomat Christopher Hill as the new US ambassador to Iraq. “From his time in the Peace Corps, to his work in Kosovo and Korea, Ambassador Hill has been tested, and he has shown the pragmatism and skill that we need right now.”

In Baghdad, Minister of State for National Security Shirwan Al-Waili said Iraq is prepared for any early withdrawal of the US troops. “We prepared ourselves for all possibilities, including a withdrawal of the US troops before 2011. Thus, the Iraqi forces are ready to take control of the security file in the whole country,” Al-Waili added.

Obama’s plan drew mixed reactions among Iraqis — some applauding the withdrawal, others questioning whether Iraq’s security forces were up to the task. “Before leaving Iraq, the US Army should do their best to train and equip the Iraqi security forces so that they can confront the dangers that are threatening the country,” said Raji Abbas, a Shiite from the southern city of Najaf.

Sunni lawmaker Mustafa Al-Hiti said Obama’s plan met “the aspirations of many Iraqis who want to see the occupying troops out of their country.” “We have enough confidence in our security forces and we think that there is no chance for a new round of violence in Iraq,” he said.