WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- With Turkish forces storming across the border into northern Iraq, U.S. President Barack Obama said it was time to order U.S. forces home.
A bilateral status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq requires U.S. combat forces to leave the country by Dec. 31.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had permission from lawmakers to negotiate for some U.S. military trainers to stay behind to help rebuild the Iraqi military. Those negotiations broke down, however, when Baghdad said any remaining troops wouldn't be protected from prosecution.
Obama, in a statement Friday, said that, following a phone call with Maliki earlier in the day, that all U.S. combat forces in Iraqi would "definitely be home for the holidays."
The "long war" in Iraq will come to an end this year, he said. Starting Jan. 1, the United States and Iraq would have a "normal relationship." Discussions would continue, he added, on training Iraqi forces.
On Thursday, the U.S. military closed one of its regional headquarters in northern Iraq, The Washington Post reported. The redeployment of some 750 soldiers came as the Turkish military sent thousands of troops streaming across the border in pursuit of Kurdish rebels.
Najmaldin Karim, the provincial governor in Kirkuk, said ethnic tensions in northern Iraq made the region ripe for conflict.
The continued presence of U.S. forces, he told the Post, "is essential for Iraq because it needs to train its troops, especially in Kirkuk and in disputed areas."
