‘Free Beacon’ Obama Montage: ‘I Promised To End the War in Iraq, and I Did’

Bombs Over Erbil (Washington Free Beacon)

It was an applause line during almost every campaign address made by President Obama in 2012: “I promised to end the war in Iraq, and I did.”

Now, he’s backing off.

President Obama ordered a full troop withdrawal from Iraq, which was completed in December 2011. But the country did not stabilize, as was predicted by Obama and key members of his administration. Instead, it has descended into greater chaos with the violent al Qaeda offshoot ISIL threatening to take over the country.

The situation became so dire that last week, as ISIL neared the city of Erbil, Obama ordered targeted air strikes to protect American diplomats and military personnel and provide humanitarian relief to the Yazidi people. When a reporter asked him Saturday if he had “second thoughts” about pulling ground troops out of Iraq, Obama bristled at the question and pawned responsibility off to the Iraqis and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for not making a status of forces agreement.