From the Press Secretary: "We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against innocent Iraqis, which serve no agenda other than murder and hatred. We offer our condolences to those whose loved ones were lost or wounded. Attempts such as this to derail Iraq’s continued progress will fail. Iraq has suffered heinous attacks like this in the past, and its security forces have shown they are up to the task of responding and maintaining stability. Time and again, the Iraqi people have shown their resilience in overcoming efforts to divide them. We continue to urge leaders to come together to face common challenges.

"Vice President Biden has spoken to several senior Iraqi leaders over the past week. Today he called Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to offer our full support for his efforts, and those of other Iraqi leaders, to foster dialogue that will allow all Iraqi blocs to work through their differences together. The Vice President also reiterated the need for actions to be guided by the rule of law and Iraq’s Constitution. At this difficult time, the United States stands with Iraq as a strategic partner and a close friend."

President Obama -- who campaigned in 2008 against the war in Iraq -- celebrates its ending in his weekly TV/radio address today.

"Our troops are now preparing to make their final march across the border and out of the country," Obama said. "Iraq’s future will be in the hands of its own people. Our war there will be over. All of our troops will be out of Iraq. And this holiday season, all of us can finally say: welcome home.

"This is an extraordinary achievement – one made possible by the hard work and sacrifice of the men and women who had the courage to serve," he said. "And there’s a lesson to learn from that – a lesson about our character as a nation.

"See, there’s a reason our military is the most respected institution in America. They don’t see themselves or each other as Democrats first or Republicans first. They see themselves as Americans first. 

"For all our differences and disagreements, they remind us that we are all a part of something bigger; that we are one nation and one people. And for all our challenges, they remind us that there is nothing we can’t do when we stick together. 

"This is a moment for us to build a country that lives up to the ideals that so many of our bravest Americans have fought and even died for. That is our highest obligation as citizens. That is the welcome home that our troops deserve."

With the last of US troops to leave Iraq later this month, President Obama met this morning in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as the two leaders develop a post-war relationship.

A press pool was allowed in briefly for the start of the meeting and spotted vice president Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval.

Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House was the scene of a demonstration on behalf of Camp Ashraf, an Iranian refugee center in Northern Iraq. Some 150 demonstrators are carrying yellow flags, drums and a loud speaker and wearing yellow ponchos. The demonstration was not audible in the Oval Office.

The Associated Press reports that NATO announced out of Brussels today that the alliance will terminate its military training mission in Iraq and withdraw all of its troops by Dec. 31. Maliki had asked NATO to extend its training mission until the end of 2013. NATO declined because the Iraqis would not grant legal immunity for the foreign trainers, the same issue that led President Obama to declare 12/31/11 the end of U.S. deployment in Iraq.

In Iraq to mark the end of U.S. military involvement there, the veep spoke Thursday at an Iraq-government hosted event at the Al Faw Palace -- built by Saddam Hussein -- to honor U.S. and Iraqi forces. 

Reporters with the vice president said the bridge to the palace was decorated with tinsel -- over barbed wire and Iraqi flags. A red carpet led to the palace entrance, lined with Iraqi troops. Inside, about 130 US troops sat on one side. Iraqi forces on the other. About 30 chairs on the Iraqi side were empty. 

The ceremony began with the Iraqi and US national anthems, as well as a moment of silence for the "martyrs."

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani spoke first. "History will record that the liberation of our country was not only an important turning point in Iraq but it was an important beginning for the region," he said, referring to events of the Arab Spring.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki thanked former President George W. Bush for signing a post-war agreement and President Obama for seeing it through. He appeared to deliver a message to Iran, warning against fomenting unrest: "The withdrawal operation will take away all the slogans that some countries hide behind in order to interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq," he said

Biden spoke third and thanked the troops: "Because of you and the work those of you here have done, we are now able to end this war," he said. He also appeared to address Iran, noting that, "we learned in over 8 years in Iraq that this country's independent spirit is stitched into its national fabric. ... The Iraqi people have not and will not yield again to any kind of external domination."

In Iraq to mark the end of U.S. military involvement there, vice president Joe Biden Wednesday pledged a "new beginning of a relationship.

"We are embarking on a new path together, a new phase in this relationship," said Biden, who along with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivered remarks at the start of a meeting of the US-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee. "That partnership includes a robust security relationship based on what you think that relationship should be. We will continue our discussions with your government over the substance of our security arrangements, including areas of training, intelligence and counterterrorism."

He said the two countries are "bound together by many things but particularly bound together by the more than eight years of shared sacrifice and struggle."

And he stressed multiple times that the US "keeps its promises," including the one Obama made in 2008 to remove U.S. troops. He called the drawdown in the best interest of both countries. "And it's in the best interest of the relationship," he said. 

Vice President Joe Biden --en route to Turkey and Greece -- made a surprise stop in Iraq to mark the end of the war, arriving Tuesday night in Baghdad. While there, the White House says he'll meet with Iraqi leaders and thank U.S. and Iraqi troops -- a few weeks before U.S. troops are due to withdraw from the country.

The White House says Biden will co-chair a meeting of the U.S. Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee and meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and other political leaders. The trip is Biden's eighth to Iraq since becoming vice president -- and he joked in a meeting with US officials that they suggested he's now eligible for Iraqi citizenship.

Obama last month announced the end of the war, though there is fear that violence could escalate after U.S. troops are gone. The deadline for all American military troops to be out is Dec. 31, though it's thought likely that the American withdrawal will be completed before then. Fewer than 20,000 American forces remain in Iraq.

The drumbeat of Republican presidential candidates skeptical of President Barack Obama's Iraq policy continued Friday night.

Here's the statement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry:

"I’m deeply concerned that President Obama is putting political expediency ahead of sound military and security judgment by announcing an end to troop level negotiations and a withdrawal from Iraq by year’s end. The President was slow to engage the Iraqis and there’s little evidence today’s decision is based on advice from military commanders.

“America’s commitment to the future of Iraq is important to U.S. national security interests and should not be influenced by politics. Despite the great achievements of the U.S. military and the Iraqi people, there remain real threats to our shared interests, especially from Iran.

“The United States must remain a firm and steadfast ally for Iraq, maintaining an ongoing diplomatic, economic, and military to military partnership with this emerging democratic ally in the Middle East.

“As a veteran and commander-in-chief of national guard forces, I cannot express enough appreciation for our military service members who have protected and defended American interests in Iraq. Our Iraq war veterans made enormous sacrifices to make our nation and world safer, and I know all Americans will welcome them home with great pride and appreciation.”

Mitt Romney's offered some harsh words Friday about President Barack Obama's announcement earlier  on Iraq.

The GOP presidential candidate, in the top tier of most national polls, had this to say:

“President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women.

"The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government. The American people deserve to hear the recommendations that were made by our military commanders in Iraq.”

Longtime Iraq war critic Dennis Kucinich was not happy with President Barack Obama's Friday announcement about the war.

The Ohio Democratic congressman's statement:

"As one of the first Members of Congress to oppose the war in Iraq, I welcome the President’s announcement that he will withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq at the end of the year. The U.S. has spent over $806 billion on a war that was based on lies. The war in Iraq has cost the lives of over 4,421 U.S. troops and an estimated 1 million innocent Iraqis.

 "Yet today’s announcement fails to acknowledge that we will simply be replacing one U.S. occupation with another. Under the State Department’s current plans to take the place of the Department of Defense as the main U.S. force in Iraq post-military withdrawal, we are still maintaining a massive presence there, now with the State Department and its heavily armed private security contractors. And it is the presence of armed U.S. contractors that is the problem. It will continue to foment instability and violence in Iraq and the region. We need to get out now, not just trade uniforms and personnel. It is reasonable to ask whether the people of Iraq will notice any change."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a leading congressional voice on military affairs, is not pleased with President Barack Obama's Iraqi troop withdrawal announcement.

 “I respectfully disagree with President Obama," Graham said.

"I feel all we have worked for, fought for, and sacrificed for is very much in jeopardy by today’s announcement," he added. "I hope I am wrong and the President is right, but I fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country.”

Democratic reaction was move favorable. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "I fully support the president."

And Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said that he was prepared to support keeping U.S. trainers in Iraq after 2011.

"But in light of Iraq’s refusal to eliminate the possibility that U.S. troops would face prosecutions in Iraqi courts, President Obama has made the right decision," Levin said.