WASHINGTON, SEP 1 (AP/UNB) - Seven years after his predecessor first declared U.S. forces had accomplished their mission, President Barack Obama marked the end of the American combat role in Iraq, saying it was "time to turn the page" on the bloody and divisive war.

Obama spoke to the nation from the Oval Office, reminding Americans that he was sitting at the same desk from which George W. Bush had announced the invasion of Iraq and what became one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in recent American history.

In May 2003, little more than a month after the invasion, Bush stood on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to declare an end to major combat operations in Iraq. A huge banner proclaiming
"Mission Accomplished" was clearly visible from the carrier's superstructure behind him.

The Bush White House came to deeply regret that sign as the war dragged on and U.S. deaths mounted.

In announcing the end of the U.S. combat mission Tuesday, Obama was unable to declare a victory in Iraq even as he recalled his opposition to the war from the outset. But he lavished praise on American forces for doing their utmost to leave behind an Iraq that stands a chance of living in prosperity and liberty.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew to Iraq to be with American forces for the momentous event, but declined, when asked, to assess the war as having been worth the heavy cost.

That judgment "really requires a historian's perspective," said Gates, who also served Bush as defense secretary. "The problem with this war, I think, for many Americans, is that the premise on which we justified going to war turned out not to be valid," Gates added. "Even if the outcome is a good one from the standpoint of the United States, it'll always be clouded by how it began."

He was speaking of Bush's decision to begin the fight on flawed intelligence that dictator Saddam Hussein had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction. Saddam was deposed soon after the invasion and he was executed by his countrymen in 2006.

In a telling sign of the domestic troubles weighing on the United States and his own presidency, Obama turned much of the emphasis in the major war address to the dire rate of U.S. joblessness.

He said the Iraq war had stripped America of money needed for its own prosperity, and he called for an economic commitment at home to rival the grit and purpose of a military campaign.

The speech, lasting slightly less than 20 minutes, was only his second address from the Oval Office. Obama looked directly into the TV camera, hands clasped in front of him on his desk, family photos
and the U.S. and presidential flags behind him. His tone was somber.

Even as he sought to put the Iraq war behind the nation, Obama has escalated the conflict in Afghanistan. He pledged anew that the United States would keep up the fight in that war, the longest once since Vietnam.

In Iraq, for all the finality, the war is not over. More Americans probably will die. The country is plagued by violence and political instability, and Iraqis struggle with constant shortages of electricity and water.

Obama is keeping up to 50,000 troops in Iraq for support and counterterrorism training, and the last forces are not due to leave until the end of 2011 at the latest.

The toll so far includes more than 4,400 U.S. troops dead and many more Iraqis, tens of thousands more Americans wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent.

To underscore his point of ending the divisiveness over Iraq, Obama said he had called Bush, whom he had taunted so often in the 2008 presidential campaign. He prominently praised the former
Republican president in the heart of his speech.

"It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," Obama said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security."

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Iraq war began with bipartisan congressional backing.

Today, Iraq is in political turmoil, its leaders unable to form a new government long after March elections that left no clear winner. The uncertainty has created an opening for insurgents to pound Iraqi security forces, hardly the conditions the United States envisioned for this transition deadline, which Obama announced 18 months ago.

Obama pressed Iraq's leaders, saying it was time to show some urgency and be accountable.

At once, Obama sought to assure Americans that the war was finally winding down, and yet also promise Iraq and those watching across the Middle East that the U.S. was not simply walking away.
"Our combat mission is ending," he said, "but our commitment to Iraq's future is not."

The American public has largely moved on from the Iraq war. Almost forgotten is the intensity that defined the debate for much of the decade and drove people into streets in protest.

Yet what grew out of the war was something broader: Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive force against perceived threats. Running for office in 2008, Obama said the war inflamed anti-American sentiments and undermined U.S. standing in the world in addition to stealing the focus from Afghanistan.

He made mention of it again on Tuesday: "Indeed, one of the lessons of our effort in Iraq is that American influence around the world is not a function of military force alone."