<p><br /> President Barack Obama has declared an end to the seven-year US combat mission in Iraq and told war-weary Americans "our central mission as a people" is to restore the sagging US economy.<br /> </p><p><br /> Obama, who inherited the war from President George W. Bush and is fighting another in Afghanistan, said he had fulfilled a 2008 campaign promise to end US combat operations in Iraq.<br /> </p><p><br /> After seven years of bloodshed that has brought sacrifice from Americans and Iraqis and consumed vast resources from tight budgets, Obama said: "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country."<br /> </p><p><br /> Obama hailed the removal of all but 50,000 US troops, who will have a training and advisory role, saying: "This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office."<br /> </p><p><br /> Almost a trillion dollars have been spent and at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 4,400 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 invasion. A recent poll found 72 per cent of Americans now believe the war was not worth the loss of American lives.<br /> </p><p><br /> The White House wanted to avoid any comparisons between Obama's speech and the May 2003 speech by Bush when he declared major combat operations over in Iraq in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner, only to see violence skyrocket in the months and years afterward.<br /> </p><p><br /> Bush launched the war over suspicions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found.<br /> </p><p><br /> Obama has promised to pull all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011.<br /> </p>
