With the move, only a small number of Marines will remain in Iraq to be guard the embassy and serve as liaison officers. More than a million troops have served in the country since the start of the war. The president’s statement came a day after a NATO air campaign led to the death of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya.

This would mark the ebb tide of a decade of American military operations that started after the September 11 terrorist attacks. It would end the period of foreign policy accomplishments for Obama who was hindered by a poor economy at home.

President Obama won the presidency based on his opposition to the Iraq war but as president, he ordered a troop buildup in Afghanistan. He also intensified drone strikes against the militants in the region. His move to withdraw the troops fulfills his campaign promise.

His move came after Colonel Qaddafi’s death and the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Obama’s administration has taken its toughest stance on Pakistan’s reluctance to remove militants along its border with Afghanistan. This could insulate the president from Republican charges that he has weak national security policies.

The two were freed last Wednesday after Oman paid the $1 million bail. Shourd was released last year after paying $500,000 bail. Bauer and Fattal were sentence to eight years in prison last month. Washington has already denied the group was spies and President Barack Obama stated that they should not have been detained.

At a press conference, both Bauer and Fattal said that the case against them was all lies and they were depicted as being involved in an American-Israeli conspiracy to destabilize Iran. They added that no evidence was presented against them and they were convicted of espionage because they’re Americans.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic ties. Several countries worked for the release of the American hikers. Their release coincided with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.