Iraqi PM Says He Refused US Troops after Dec.31; Says Obama Wanted Troops Shielded of Lawsuits

Iraq's prime minister said today (October 22, 2011) that U.S. troops are leaving Iraq after nearly nine years of war because Baghdad rejected American demands that any U.S. military forces to stay would have to be shielded from prosecution or lawsuits, according to the Washington Post website.

The comments by Nouri al-Maliki -- a Shiite -- made it clear that it was Iraq that refused to let the U.S. military remain under the American terms.

Yesterday, President Barack Obama had hailed the troops' withdrawal as a result of his commitment -- promised shortly after taking office in 2009 -- to end the war he once described as "dumb."

Nearly 40,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, all of whom will leave that country by December 31, 2011.