or congress in the house, they voted against giving money to firefighters and teachers. they want to get these things they believe to be political viable, democrats do, they want republicans to vote against them and continue this moving forward. what's up next? we suspect there will be another smaller bit of the president's jobs bill this will have to do with infrastructure. and you'll see something in the lower billions trying to fix roads and bridges. that vote will come up to the senate and most likely go done and add to the fodder for campaign 2012. congress is so unpopular around the country, what you're seeing now from both sides is this idea of governing is out the window. we'll play politics on practically every single vote, all to strengthen our position in november of 2012. it basically means what a lot of aides have been telling me privately which is coming to fruition and is true that nothing will get here until 2013. >> 2013? two years? two years? >> essentially that's what you're looking at. >> i was going ask when we can expect progress on these issues. the first of six major parts, luke. what do you think here? which of the six might make it to the house and see traction? >> part of the president's jobs bill, extending the payroll tax deduction there is talk of that possibly moving forward. the 3% withholding that businesses have had to do, filings that is confusing with the irs. little things like that, maybe. but this idea of a big, robust jobs bill, that's not going to happen. the one thing that could grab traction, the super committee is supposed to meet on the 23rd. maybe they'll have something there. as far as this congress, the most you'll see from this congress and with the president and republicans fighting is maybe producing four, five budget fights. >> 2013. you'll have grandchildren, luke. i'll have a beard. good to talk to you. >> good to see you. officials in libya say they will wait for an investigation into moammar gadhafi's death before they bury the former dictator. they are trying to decide on a location to bury the body, but insist it will happen to islamic tradition. adrian mong has more. >> reporter: good morning from misrata. things quieted down last night, probably 1:00 a.m. local time and they stayed quiet this morning, but behind me they are gearing up for midday prayers and should be a celebration this morning in freedom square. we are hearing rebel forces are still in sirte, gadhafi's hometown where he was killed yesterday. they want to make sure there are no gadhafi loyalists still in town. and they are going through every block, every street inch by inch slowly. it's believed gadhafi's body is still here in misrata. we heard a number of different rumors, that it's being kept in a cold storage facility, at an old market, it's at a hospital. it's clear that it's been moved around and that the interim government officials do not want anybody to know where the body is being kept. we spoke to within senior member of the transitional council who did confirm that for sure the burial would take place today, presumably in a private, private occasion with no ceremony. back to you. >> thank you for that report. a president who has established his foreign policy but who can't get the economic engine to start. sound familiar? if you were around in 1992, it might. george h.w. bush at that time overseeing a successful iraq war and the end of communism in europe, but the economy had a bit of rough patch. followed by the election of a new president. the question, are we there again? joining us, former dnc communications director karen finny, and syndicated columnist, tony blankly. afternoon to you both. sam stein of the huntington post saying one of the president's staffers asking themselves this, in light of the death of moammar gadhafi, the assassination of osama bin laden, and the killing of anwar al alwlaki, how does president go about campaigning on these achievements? >> these are the things that the president can do when republicans don't get in the way. when republicans don't have a say in the matter, strategy gets done effectively and low-cost to the american taxpayers. >> tony s that a fair assessment? >> i think the president gets good credit for this. the odd thing politically is that probably republicans are more in favor of prosecuting the war on terrorism who will be supportive of these results. but they'll not vote for him any way. so i don't think he makes many points in the election in 2012, but he doesn't hurt himself by having been effective in these areas. >> big part of the debate in the narrative now, looking at the jobs bill and what's happening on the hill in washington, d.c., also large in americans lives, do these translate to votes come 2012? >> they might. the whole thing about 2012 will be this argument between differing visions between how we go forward, how we create jobs, how we deal with the economy. obviously you're seeing the president, you know, laying that out now saying americans deserve an answer as to why the republican congress wanted to vote against jobs, money for first responders and all that. certainly when we have a republican nominee, that's going to be the head to head question. so far everything we've seen from the republican candidates suggests more of the same, which is going to the top 1% at the expense of the other 99%. so, that's going to really be the question for voters, you know, whose vision do you think is going to best, you know, help you and your family. >> foreign policy gains perhaps aside. when we look at this as well, tony, what's the lesson from -- since we are eluding to h.w. bush in our introduction, what's the message from h.w. bush that president obama can apply here? if the dynamic of the successes abroad do not translate to success at home because of the economic situation? what can president obama take from that situation. >> the economy didn't dip nearly as badly in '91 as it is now. on the other hand, president clinton, then governor clinton, was a superb politician, a lesser politician might not have knocked herbert walker off. the problem for president obama is that the public, particularly independents, have come to the conclusion that his policies have not worked. he had those first two years when he had congress with him to pass, he got passed what he wanted, the stimulus bill, obama care, et cetera. unlike reagan who got his billed passed in 1981, and then didn't get too much done domestically in the next few years, but the economy got better. he was able to benefit from that. i think obama will have a difficult time in the next 13 months persuading the public that more of what he accomplished in 2009 and '10 is what the country needs. >> karen, go ahead. >> can i add? i worked on the clinton campaign in '92, a big part of governor clinton's advantage was president bush at that point seemed to be out of turn with what ordinary americans were facing. there was the thing where he went to the grocery store and had not seen the scanners. time after time he seemed so out of touch. i think president obama does a good job -- he's not out of touch and he gets what's going on. there's a legitimate case to be made that the things he's tried to do, republicans have stood in the way. that's the argument he will make. >> that's the argue. he will make, but obviously he has not successfully convinced the public that he's in touch with successful policy solutions, because we have 9% unemployment. >> karen, since you were there, you remember '92, we had ross perot. will we see another one this time around? >> at this point it doesn't seem that we will. remember, an independent run really takes -- it's more complicated than people think. you need to have a certain amount of i nfrastructure in th states that takes money if we were going to have a third party candidate, they would have to get started earlier and build that infrastructure you need. >> karen and tony, thank you very much. karen, i can't believe you were there in '92. you're not carrying the age. you look great. >> you know, i was in kindergarten, of course. >> thank you again karen and tony. herman cain announced today he's tweaking it's a 9-9-9 plan after liberals and conservatives have repeatedly taken shots at it. after it was reported that 84% of u.s. households would see their taxes rise under 9-9-9. joining us by phone is andrew rafferty. how is the new 9-9-9 different from the old 9-9-9? what did we learn this morning? >> we learned today that it will be 9-0-9 for some of the left income americans. herman cain said the 9% individual flat tax would not apply to the poor americans. that's one of the big contentious issues with the plan is how it would raise taxes, especially for some of the people who are not paying taxes now because they don't have the money to do so. so -- but what mr. cain said today this is already in the plan that this was something that was a provision that he had in mind all along but that he will not talked publicly about it, which is a departure from what we heard him say earlier, when he had proposals and how it would deal with the poorest americans. >> he's talking about opportunity zones, isn't he? >> opportunity zones is another part of this. these are specific zones that will be created throughout the country that would have certain benefits. those benefits seem to be deregulation it will be easier for things like building codes and permits and minimum wage is one of the things he mentioned as eliminating that so they can spur more people being hired. so these opportunity zones is a way for his 9-9-9 plan to really try to take economic growth to some of these areas like detroit, where we are now, that have not seen that in a long time. >> andrew, let's talk about that. from a liberal's perspective, the zones where it would, again, lower the tax burden on them, it would also require, as you said, eliminating the minimum wage. it's requiring school vouchers, and he would want right to work or nonunion. those things would be tough for. >> right. i think the whole 9-9-9 plan is tough for liberals to swallow. this is just adding on to that, to a new degree. but, you know, he's been attacked for the way this plan is impacting low-income americans. and this was kind of a way to deal with that. those attacks were coming from people in his own party, from the right. we saw it during the debates. so this certainly is not going to be an easy thing to pass f it comes to that point. it also is not an easy thing to sell to people liberals and conservatives. >> all right. andrew rafferty there with staffers getting the ground view for us. thank you very much. why the prosecution says it was impossible for=já michael jackson to have given himself that fatal dose of propofol. plus a possible reason for why that ohio man released all those exotic animals. first for you, a look at what's happening on wall street now. look at those numbers. we're up 209 points and change. great for your retirement fund. why? they're not as concerned at the moment of what's happening in europe. there are more positive signs coming from that part of the world. 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[ male announcer ] thanks. that's the cold truth! a delayed start today in the providin proviceedings for dr. conrad murray. the prosecution is expected to wrap up its case after the defense cross examines its final witness. propofol expert dr. steven shafer has been on the stand for three days now. the d.a. has used its testimony to take apart the defense theory that michael jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol. on thursday, shafer gave a visual recreation in the courtroom of how propofol was administered to michael jackson. he said murray left the propofol dripping into michael jackson's veins even after his heart stopped beating. >> looking at everything you reviewed, you concluded that conrad murray was not only a substantial factor but a direct cause of michael jackson's death? >> yes. >> john q. kelly is a civil attorney and former federal prosecutor. thanks for being here. shafer has been up there for three days. he testified there was 40 times more than the anesthetic than he admitted. >> sure. >> and also he was so drugged it would have been impossible for jackson to give himself more. does this mean a slam dunk basically for the prosecution? >> no. a couple things. the benefit of propofol is you can wake up, rested and conscious immediately, so they're going to be able to rebut that. and also they will show dr. murray has been administering this safely and successfully to michael jackson for a couple months. something different an catastrophic happened this day that didn't happen in the months before. >> we were talking about this before we came on air. on wednesday they were supposed to rest, the prosecution. now it stretched over. the propofol expert shafer has been on the stand for quite some time. getting cross examined today. anything to make of that? >> i think the prosecution is making sure they cover every angle and possibility before the defense presents. shafer has been on three days now. i think he's just been covering all bases. >> they'll move into the defense case right now and what they'll be doing. what's the strategy? >> i think first of all, they'll have the battle of the experts. the defense is calling dr. white, who actually taught dr. shafer, i'm sure he will testify to a couple of things. he will say the propofol level was within accepted standard of cares, that if 911 was called, he still wouldn't have been able to save him and that the lorazepam was a contributing factor. >> how does the case look? >> i think the facts are strong for the prosecution. it sounds a lot to a lay jury like a medical malpractice case. and it's an l.a. jury -- >> anything is possible. >> anything is possible. >> today or on monday when the defense starts what should we be looking out for? >> the battle of experts and that dr. murray was not as egregiously not conducting himself within medical standards as the prosecution painted him to be. he was following procedure safely up to this night and something happened that wasn't anticipated. >> thank you very much, john q. kelly. >> sure. why there's talk of a confession in the case of missing baby lisa. and presidential candidates as say they're in it to win it. but are they really? ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! 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[ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? breaking news from the white house. president obama is about to talk about iraq shortly. we are getting the details here at msnbc. what we understand at the moment is that from a white house official they are saying that following a secure video conference with the prime minister there, mathat the president will have a conference about iraq. we are waiting to get more details from our white house correspondent, kristen welker. stay with us at msnbc for more on that. this as the president was signing three trade agreements today with south carolina, panama and ccolombia. the white house saying it will boost exports and help job growth. and according to a new biography, steve jobs delayed cancer treatment for three months, tried a vegan diet and herbal remedies. he died on october 5th. 300,000 cell phone users in denmark found in link to cancer, but it was based on subscriptions and not acute use. tonight, viadoom will start. one to of the highway also shut down for nine days so crews can demolish another aging highway. new elections in libya could take place as soon as april following the death of moammar gadhafi. officials say the country will have to basically start from zero building a government and an economy, one that relies heavily on oil. but oil production since the war started in march dropped to about 45,000 barrels a day in august and september, down from a pre-war output of 1.6 million barrels a day. joining me now is cnbc's melissa francis. how are prices looking today following the news of gadhafi's death. >> prices didn't move a whole lot on this news because people are skeptical about what is going on over there, how much oil infrastructure has been damaged, how quickly this oil will return, which is what got me investigating this story in the first place. the government, the national oil company will tell you there's about 100,000 barrels a day coming out. when i talk to people who have sources there who are exporting from neighboring areas, they say it's much less than that. it's more of a trickle. the government, the national oil company will tell you that the oil infrastructure is not that damaged that maybe 10% 15% of the production is shut in. that seems not to be the case. we have a map. two-thirds of the libyan oil comes from this sirte basin. there's heavy fighting there and also heavy fighting nearby. so it's a question of how much oil comes back. when it does, it's great news for the market, because it's the light sweet crude that the market likes. easy to refine. >> thank you for that. want to update you on something that we were reporting. there will be some sort of statement coming from the president about iraq shortly. let's go down to jim miklaszewski at pentagon on what that announcement may be. >> u.s. military officials are telling nbc news that the president will announce essentially that negotiations with the iraqis have broken down in terms of any efforts to keep a residual force there in iraq after the first of this year. and the president is prepared to announce that almost all american troops will be coming out of iraq by the end of this year. currently there are some 39,000 to 40,000 american troops still in iraq. at the height of the surge operation in 2007 there were as many as 166,000 troops in iraq. according to military officials who have been tracking these negotiations, one of the big hang-ups was immunity for u.s. military forces that were left behind after the expiration of this status of forces agreement that had been cut years ago. and ends at the end of this year. so the problem was that the u.s. military was not going to leave any american troops behind on the ground in iraq if they were not granted immunity. we're told the new constitution in iraq requires the parliament to vote and approve immunity for any visiting armed forces. and that malaki started telling the white house a couple weeks ago that he didn't think it was possible to get the necessary majority to sign on to that immunity. this was a pledge or a target made by president obama. we were told the two issues were immunity, and that this was the president's deadline to begin with, to withdraw forces out. there were always plans to keep a small force, anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 inside iraq to assist the iraqi military, serve as trainers, but it appears that all, maybe a couple left behind to work with the state department and the embassy there in iraq, but it appears that almost all of the u.s. forces that first went in to iraq in march of 2003 will now be coming out, which would mark an end, total end of u.s. military participation in the war in iraq. >> in just two months. jim miklaszewski with the latest on that, thank you so much, mik. that coming out of the pentagon. we are awaiting for the president. we expect him any moment to come to the briefing room to make remarks on iraq, this is the story that jim miklaszewski was just telling us, the developments of pulling all the troops out of iraq. let's go to kristen welker at the white house, our white house correspondent with more on the story. what have you got. >> we know president obama held a video conference with prime minister today, and the question has been the pull-out of troops. one of the main sticking points, will we be leaving a few thousand troops in iraq to help with the transition. one of the problems with that is that the iraqi parliament was saying they could not provide legal immunity. that was part of the discussions going onrecently about how exactly to handle the situation there. all we know about the president's remarks at this point is that he will address the security situation in iraq. we expect him to speak shortly. there are currently 40,000 troops still in country, this conflict has been going on for nearly a decade that cost about 4,000 american lives. so there will certainly be a lot of interest in what the president has to say just momentarily about the security situation in iraq. >> all right. shortly, again, waiting for those remarks from the president. kristen welker at the white house watching that for us. thank you for that. now let's go to our nbc news correspondent who had reported from iraq for several years here. the issue of immunity, that was a sticking point for the parliament. let's first talk about why that's important. >> well, it's extremely important for the iraqis over what they've seen over the past several years of u.s. involvement. not only particularly for the u.s. military but for u.s. military contractors. there are notorious incidents that took place throughout u.s. military involvement, like abu ghraib, other incidents where the iraqi people and government wanted to hold american military personnel accountable for. now, in previous agreements, that was never the case. it was always the united states that would hold responsible its own personnel. >> stand by. kristen welker has more information that she just got in. she's at the white house. what have you got? >> i want to read you this statement that i just got from a white house official. it says today the president will announce that we will fulfill commitment and complete the draw down of u.s. troops from iraq by the end of the year. this will allow us to say definitively that the iraq war is over and that the partnership between the u.s. and iraq will be a normal one between two sovereign nations. during their conversation, president obama and prime minister al maliki strongly agreed this is the best way forward for both. i wanted to reiterate those comments from a white house official who says today the president will announce the complete drawdown of u.s. troops from iraq by the end of the y r year. that's really the headline here, richard. as we've been discussing, the president in a lot of negotiations about how exactly that drawdown would happen, would there be several thousand troops to remain in country to help with the transition. according to this statement t sounds like all troops will be out of iraq by the end of the year. >> kristen welker, thank you. standing by for us at the white house as we await for president obama to make remarks on this shortly, with the drawl of troops from iraq. so, we were talking about immunity, how that was a major issue, a sticking point for iraqis, the parliament itself. the next question is is iraq ready? is the parliament ready to work together there in iraq? >> that's going to be the million dollar question. when you speak to iraqis in certain part of the country, there's no doubt a great deal of capacity and capability, which means the iraqi army, iraqi internal security forces have the ability to maintain, preserve law and order, but more importantly defend iraq's borders. that's the real test. iraq right now remains fragile politically and militarily. and over the course of the last several years, the american military has withdrawn from major cities to the outskirts of major urban areas allowing the iraqi forces to stand up on their own two feet. we can say attacks have diminished but not gone away completely. the ability of iraqi forces to prevent attacks is still somewhat question. there's no doubt the capacity is better, they have gotten more equipment and technical assistance from the american military. once this begins, the drawdown begins, how capable will the iraqi army and the internal security fors forces be to sta on their own two feet? if this is going to be a partnership of two equal countries in the sense that the u.s. and iraq have hammered out this agreement, but the u.s. as we learned is until going to keep technical advisers, what capacity will these technical advisers play? what will they be able to provide in terms of assistance to the iraqis on the ground. >> stand by. we will go to andrea mitchell live in washington, d.c., who will now take this hour forward for us. good day to you. >> thank you, richard. the president expected in the white house briefing room shortly. he will announce the end of the iraq war. even though the combat mission ended in august of 2010, this is the final withdrawal of u.s. troops by the end of the year. the sticking point, as you have been hearing, is that the iraq parliament would not agree to an extension of the status of forces agreement that would have prevented some small force, leon panetta had suggested some 3,000, 4,000 americans to stay on the ground as trainers to help the iraqi army continue to train, but that would not be possible without the extension by iraq's parliament it became clear that the politics in iraq would not make that possible. with me now in washington is chris matthews as we await the president. so much history so many lives. we are talking about all american troops except for perhaps a small force of marines, for instance who would protect the embassy and a few others would be gone by the end of this year. >> our being in iraq has been can't ver controversial since the beginning. this war has always been the subject of dispute it was the reason we could all agree, i think that barack obama won the democratic nomination. he opposed the war in iraq. secretary clinton had supported it. we continue to do so in a way this is an iconic event for him. the good news is that the government of iraq is sovereign. it can make decisions. if it's capable of telling us to leave, it had sovereignty and what legitimacy asking us to stay. i think it will be hard for the opposition to criticize this boldly. they will be hesitant, saying we have to be careful. the only issue on the table is whether we kept the residual force of about 3,000. that's not enough to fight a war. that's enough to protect u.s. investments. but i don't see how that was an issue of fighting or not fighting. >> in fact, it seems as though the iraq parliament would not even agree to that relatively small number. at its peak during the surge, 170,000 americans were on the ground in the most active year, 2006, and then the surge after that. then down to 140,000. now fewer than 50,000, about 41,000 troops. but not in a combat role. they have not been in a combat role, technically, of course they have been able to defend themselves when there's been attacks, and we've seen tremendous losses in this year where supposedly combat has ended, there are 7,000 diplomats in the embassy. this is a monster embassy. >> we are talking about 150 soldiers defending them now, looking into the future. but the man i always watch over there -- you're the foreign policy person, is al sadr, here ef is s here he is saying we are ending the oppression of the american occupation. he is a shiite. if you had to look down the road to a potential leader who is positioning now even as an enemy of the united states this is very disturbing if you think of the american lives lost, the limbs lost, the treasure in defending that country. >> according to reporting in the last week, with strong support, not only from iran's qutz force. joining us now is jim miklaszewski, our veteran pentagon correspondent. you have seen this from the beginning. there has to be a moment of closure and relief, though this will be -- jim miklaszewski is on the phone, he will be doing more reporting. on the phone now is barry mccaffrey. are the iraqis read i do take on this fight themselves? >> we're certainly about to find out. i view this as good news for the united states. i thought staying on with a small force, 3,000 to 5,000 as trainers would leave them vulnerable. and then the notion of lack of immunity was a no-go. we're better off. we will end up with a couple hundred military people in the embassy doing military sales, monitoring equipment deliveries to the iraqis. i think coming out is the appropriate move. and will the iraqis hold together? my guess is, yes. they have six neighbors surrounding them. most of whom wish them ill, but none of whom think regional war in the middle east is to anybody's benefit. internally now, the shiites are dominant in the national police, the army, the sunni and kurds are am presencive, appropriately. but my guess is we don't see all-out civil war and genocide. we will see a struggle for power. that will be very interesting to watch what happens the next year. as far as i know, there's still no defense minister, no minister of the interior. they can't get consensus in that legislative body for darn near anything moving forward. >> we are watching an interesting angle shot of the briefing room from the side-view. we just saw the president's remarks placed on that podium. you see the network correspondents, including chuck todd, waiting for that moment when the president will walk in. and this is really an historic moment. jim miklaszewski, you have lived through so much of this history with the troops in the field, with the invasion in the beginning. what is the significance of this from a military perspective? >> quite frankly, to parrot general mccaffrey's remarks, i think the military is somewhat relieved. war fatigue has not only set in in the nation but in the u.s. military, stretched extremely thin. you know, over the past eight and a half years, they have had nearly 4,500 u.s. military killed in iraq. more than 32,000 wounded. so, i think they were ready to give up this mission. >> even if it meant 3,000 to 5,000 trainers in iraq. it's one less war or conflict that the u.s. military would have to worry about. the key issue here has been the parliament's reluctance to grant american forces there in iraq that would remain behind immunity. that's been the sticking point for some time now, for several months, actually. maliki told the pentagon he doesn't think he can get parliament to grant immunity to the troops. that's one of the major reasons that the u.s. is going to withdraw all those forces, not keep any trainers there. there will be a contingent between 100 to 200 troops assigned to the embassy there in baghdad. but they will be granted diplomatic immunity, which is something else entirely. so those troops would be protected against any laws that would be enforced against them by iraq. >> we'll have a huge intelligence component there as we have for some time. >> the big question -- andrea, if i could, one of the big questions is there will be 20,000 to 40,000 private contractors there in iraq working primarily for the state department. we're told by the state department -- unless they are direct hires, work for the u.s. government specifically, they will not be covered by any diplomatic immunity there. that could be problematic for those contractors and the state department's ability to hire them. >> with us is chris aliso. we are told the president will be walking into the briefing room any second. the speakers office has indicated they have not been briefed. so the president, the white house has not reached out to the speaker of the house. >> there's a political component in all of these things. my guess is -- i was waiting in the wings listening to you and chris talk. >> here is the president. we'll pick this up. good afternoon, everybody. as a candidate for president, i pledged to bring the war in iraq to a responsible end for the sake of our national security and to strengthen american leadership around the world. after taking office, i announced a new strategy that would end our combat mission in iraq and remove all of our troops by the end of 2011. as commander in chief ensuring the success of the strategy has been one of my highest national security priorities. last year i announced the end to our combat mission in iraq. and to date we removed more than 100,000 troops. iraqis have taken full responsibility for their country's security. a few hours ago i spoke with iraqi prime minister maliki. i reaffirmed that the united states keeps its commitments. he spoke of the determination of the iraqi people to forge their own future. we are in full agreement about how to move forward. so today i can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. over the next two months, our troops in iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for home. the last american soldier will cross the border from iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing the american people stand united in our support for our troops. that is how america's military efforts in iraq will end. even as we mark this important milestone, we are also moving into a new phase in the relationship between the united states and iraq. as of january 1st, it will be a normal relationship between sovereign nations. an equal partnership based on mutual interests and respect. in today's conversation, prime minister maliki and i agreed that the framework agreement coordinator also meet in the coming weeks. i invited the prime minister to come to the white house in december as we plan for the important work we have to do together. this will be a strong and enduring partnership. with our diplomats and civilian advisers in the lead, we will help iraqis strengthen institutions that are just, representative and accountable. we'll build new ties of trade and of commerce, culture and education, that unleash the potential of the iraqi people. we will partner with an iraq that contributes to regional security and peace, just as we insist that other nations respect iraq's sovereignty. as i told prime minister maliki, we will continue discussions on how we might help train and equip iraq's forces, like we help train forces around the world. there will be difficult days ahead for iraq. and the united states will continue to have an interest in an iraq that is stable, secure and self-reliant. just as iraqis have persevered through war, i'm confident they can build a future worthy of their history as a cradle of civilization. here at home the coming months will be another season of homecomings. across america, our service men and women will be reunited with their families. today i can say that our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. this december will be a time to reflect on all that we've been through in this war. i'll join the american people in paying tribute to the more than 1 million americans who have served in iraq. we'll honor our many wounded warriors and the nearly 4,500 american patriots, and their iraqi and coalition partners who gave their lives to this effort. finally, i would note that the end of war in iraq reflects a larger transition. the tide of war is receding. the drawndown in iraq allowed us to refocus or fight against al qaeda and achieve major victories against its leadership, including osama bin laden. now, even as we remove our last troops from iraq, we're beginning to bring our troops home from afghanistan, where we have begun a transition to afghan security in leadership. when i took office, roughly 180 troops were deployed in both these wars. by the end of this year, that number will be cut in half. make no mistake, it will continue to go down. meanwhile, yesterday marked the definitive end of the gadhafi regime in libya. there, too, our military played a critical role in shaping a situation on the ground in which the libyan people can build their own future. today nato is working to bring this successful mission to a close. so, to sum up, the united states is moving forward from a position of strength. the long war in iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. the transition in afghanistan is moving forward, and our troops are finally coming home. as they do, fewer deployments and more time training will help keep our military the very best in the world. as we welcome home our newest veterans, we'll never stop working to give them and their families the care, the benefits and the opportunities that they have earned. this includes enlisting our veterans in the greatest challenge we face as a nation, creating opportunity and jobs in this country because after a decade of war, the nation we need to build and the nation we will build is our own, an american that sees its economic strength restored just as we restored our leadership around the globe. thank you very much. >> the president leaving the briefing room, a couple of shouted questions about iran that he did not take. but the president saying that after almost nine years, as promised, the key word, america's war in iraq will be over by year's end. and they will have cut in half -- he will have cut in half the number of troops deployed overseas, counting iraq and afghanistan by year's end. and that that number will continue to go down. were me, sti with me still, chris matthews. this is significant in a military conflict and significant for the men and women. these troops have had multiple deployments and he said the troops will begin packing their bags and be home by the holidays. >> i think this is mission accomplished without the banner. it is a crisp, business like -- >> and without the aircraft carrier. >> you saw that key word, the united states is moving forward from a position of strength. there's an interlocking nature with what happened yesterday to what's happening today. the president is establishing himself as a strong defender of this country with regards to terrorism, which is why we went into that country, to fight terrorism. rightly or wrongly. now you have the president saying, look, having caught gadhafi, having him killed, having our own people killing osama bin laden, we're doing what we have to do to defend this country. we're a strong country in a position now to withdraw troops on skichedule and putting it altogether. it's not being a dove and a hawk on different days, it's being a strong defender of the united states. >> politically this is what the president will take to the campaign trail, to respond to any republican criticism, gadhafi, osama bin laden, iraq drawdown. >> nice laundry list. >> and an uncertain future in afghanistan. >> yeah. i think you mentioned the word as promised. that's the key. this is a promises made promises kept argument. chris before i came on, chris made the point which is without his opposition to the war in iraq in -- or the early part of the last decade and the 2008 campaign, there's probably not a president obama. that's what gave him the chance, the angle to say i didn't think i was ready for it, but hillary clinton got the most important vote wrong, and i was right from the start. >> he said that as a state senator from illinois. >> absolutely. >> that's why the iowa caucuses went in his direction. >> no question. did it wind up being a big issue as the campaign wore on? no, it didn't, because the economy took precedence. the genesis of the obama campaign, it began with his opposition and her support. it's a remarkable set of bookends from that statement as a senator, to this year. president obama now seeking a second term, and iraq, again, in the news. just a remarkable story line politically and otherwise. >> we should point out and we'll be going to pakistan in a bit for an update on what's happened there. hillary clinton, the opponent of barack obama, the secretary of state, was in islamabad earlier today after being in afghanistan the day before, she had very tough meetings in pakistan, four hours yesterday, more today. she was joined by david petraeus, the cia director, by martin democracy, the chairman of the joint chiefs. they were going head to head with the generals and leader there's pakistan on the question of the haqqani network. and the u.s. officials met with the haqqanis last summer, and that meeting was supposed to say back off, put down your arms, reconcile, and what did they do instead? they launched a 20-hour firefight against our embassy in kabul. >> this has always been a troubled partnership with pakistan. it began after we asked them to take sides in 2011. we sent people over there -- >> i was on the job. >> do you want to join the winning side or the losing side? we said join the winning side which they seemed to do, under musharraf. then we have seen everything since. it's been more than troubling. you wonder whether that is not weakest of all the allies we have in terms of actual security arrangements. >> i think what we're reaching out towards or groping towards is a different kind of relationship which is not an alliance. it's a relationship of convenience. we will be with you when we see certain behaviors and we will not be with you if you don't perform. >> it's not so easy to finlandi finlandize pakistan, though. you have to find -- i think all americans want one thing out of pakistan, not to blow anything up. just don't use the nuclear weapons. that's what we want. it's a completely negative notion out of your country. don't cause harm. we trust the military generally,