Kucinich: Complete Iraq pull-out needed

WASHINGTON-A leading US Congress critic of the Iraq war on Tuesday welcomed the formal end of US combat operations there but warned only a full troop withdrawal could bring stability to the strife-torn country.

"We must admit that our mere presence there undermines any hope for a peaceful and stable Iraq," Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich said in a statement after President Barack Obama marked the milestone in a speech.

Kucinich, noting that 50,000 US troops remained in Iraq, stressed: "We need to remove all American forces -- military and otherwise -- and commit to working diplomatically for a viable government."

The Ohio lawmaker said Obama was "rightly celebrating that less American troops are in harm's way," but dismissed as "fiction" the notion that this would "in any way" reduce the US burden in Iraq.

"We will continue to spend billions in Iraq with absolutely nothing to show for it," said Kucinich, a leader in congressional efforts to oppose funding for the war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Democratic Senator Russell Feingold, the first senator to call for a timetable to end the Iraq war, praised Obama but warned "our departure from Iraq is taking much longer than it should have."

"But it does show that setting a timetable for redeployment can help responsibly transition control and enable us to focus on what must be our top national security priority, combating al Qaeda’s global network," he said.

Feingold said Washington should reduce its troop levels "as quickly and safely as possible to ease the strain on our military and our budget" and stressed: "We can help get our fiscal house in order by ending our military involvement in Iraq."

"Delaying our final troop redeployments for another year will add tens of billions more dollars to our massive debt," said the Wisconsin lawmaker.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid praised US forces for their sacrifices in Iraq and said Obama had "affirmed our obligation to finish the job in Iraq and draw down our presence there in a responsible, honorable way."

"While we still have thousands of troops who remain in Iraq in an advisory role, the responsibility for the security of Iraq now rests primarily with the Iraqi people," said Reid.

The Nevada lawmaker, who drew heavy fire in April 2007 for saying of Iraq "this war is lost," said "Americans of good faith have always held different opinions about how to conduct the war effort in Iraq."

"But the American people have always been united in honoring the sacrifice of our service members who have bravely defended American interests there," he said, vowing to provide US troops "the support that they have earned."

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Obama's speech showed he was "keeping his promise to responsibly end this war" and "moving closer to the day when Iraq’s future rests solely in the hands of the Iraqi people."

"We open this new chapter knowing that American troops remain on the ground, advising, assisting, and training Iraq’s security personnel. We honor their continued sacrifice," she said.

Pelosi said she and other Democratic leaders would "keep providing them with the equipment, tools, armor, and other resources needed to complete their mission -- and the services they need when they come home."