Obama Declares Iraq Combat Mission has Ended

For only the second time in his term, President Barack Obama addressed the American people from the Oval Office Tuesday night, this time to talk about the end of combat operations in Iraq. He then turned to the war in Afghanistan and the economy.

While it was not as dramatic as Douglas MacArthur accepting the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, Obama declared the war in Iraq over.

Obama talked about the changes that took place in the more than 7-year war in Iraq. A war to disarm a state became a war to disarm an insurgency, said the president, who praised the troops. As commander in chief, I am incredibly proud of their service.

Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, said Obama -- who added that he had promised to end military operations there when he ran for the presidency in 2008. He stressed that Iraqi forces would be handling matters in the future.