US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that America's war in Iraq is over but admitted that the outcome will remain "clouded" over why it was waged in the first place.
Asked by reporters at Camp Ramadi, an American base about 100 kilometres (80 miles) west of Baghdad, whether the United States was still at war in Iraq, Gates replied: "I'd say we're not. Combat operations have ceased."
"We are still going to work with Iraqis on counter-terrorism, we are still doing a lot of training and advising," said Gates, who arrived early Wednesday on an unannounced visit to Iraq.
"So I would say we've moved into the final phase of our engagement in Iraq," said Gates, who also met US soldiers staying on to provide assistance to the Iraqi army.
President Barack Obama late Tuesday officially announced the end of the US combat mission in Iraq. US forces are now down to less than 50,000 with only an advisory and training mission left.
Asked if the war that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis was worth it, Gates said: "The problem with this war for any Americans is that the premise on which we justified going to war proved not to be valid.
"Even if the outcome is a good one from the standpoint of the United States, it will always be clouded by how it began," he said.
Former US president George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 arguing that the country was rife with weapons of mass destruction -- but in fact none were ever found.
Nevertheless Gates said he was "optimistic" about the future of Iraq, where the dictatorial regime of strongman Saddam Hussein was brought to an end by the US-led war.
"But there can be no disagreement with what has been achieved here by our men and women in uniform," said Gates, referring to the stuttering democratic process under way in Iraq.
"I am optimistic that these guys will continue to make progress," in the political arena, he said.
Gates will later on Wednesday join US Vice President Joe Biden in presiding over a ceremony marking the change of US military command in Iraq.
General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq since taking over from General David Petraeus in 2008 is stepping down to be replaced by Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin.
The ceremony to take place at the Al Faw Palace near Baghdad airport will mark Operation New Dawn -- the name given to the US military's new "advise and assist" mission.
Obama had vowed to get American combat troops home from Iraq and has pulled nearly 100,000 soldiers out -- even as he escalated the war in Afghanistan.
But with around 49,700 American troops remaining in Iraq until the end of next year, Obama warned that although US combat was ending, violence in Iraq would not.
"Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended," Obama said, seated in the same spot as former president George W. Bush when he unleashed the US war machine more than seven years ago.
"Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country."
But he warned in his 18-minute address that "extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife."
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stressed in a televised speech on Tuesday that his country's soldiers and police were now in charge, adding he was confident the last US forces would leave as planned in 2011.
"This is a day that will remain in the memory of all Iraqis. Today, Iraq has become a sovereign and independent country," he said.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
