US Vice President Joe Biden, in Iraq as the last American soldiers prepare to depart, thanked troops from both sides for their shared sacrifices, saying they helped to end the war. But even as Biden spoke of the conflict drawing to a close, 18 people were killed in attacks in confessionally mixed Diyala province, north of Baghdad, 10 of them in a market bombing in the town of Khales.
"We're gathered here to thank the armed forces of Iraq and America, and to honour your sacrifice, to honour your success, as well as your commitment," Biden said at a ceremony at Al-Faw palace in the sprawling Victory Base Complex near the capital. "Because of you ... and the work those of you in uniform have done, we are now able to end this war," Biden said at the ceremony attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and US ambassador James Jeffrey.
He praised soldiers at the gathering for helping lay the foundation "for a long-term strategic partnership between our nations" and said Iraq could now serve as a source of stability in the region "for years to come." "I think it's fair to say, almost no one thought that was possible a few years ago," he said. Biden also paid tribute to the casualties of the conflict, including 4,486 US troops killed and more than 30,000 wounded.
"For you Iraqis, the cost of war was still greater. Hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens lost their lives," he said. In his own remarks at the ceremony, Maliki said that "we should proudly remember the confrontation that our armed forces conducted side by side with all coalition forces, especially American forces, in a world war against terrorism." He offered congratulations to the Iraqi people on the occasion of the US withdrawal, and thanks to the Obama administration for its commitment to implement it.