The OIF GenerationA field guide to the Iraq War and the generation that fought it
Year by Year ยท 2009

2009: Sovereignty

FOB Rustamiyah is handed back to the Iraqi government, March 31, 2009, the first main Baghdad compound returned under the security agreement.
FOB Rustamiyah is handed back to the Iraqi government, March 31, 2009, the first main Baghdad compound returned under the security agreement. U.S. Army photo via DVIDS (public domain)

A new legal footing

On January 1, 2009, the Status of Forces Agreement took effect, and the Iraqi Sovereignty campaign began. U.S. operations now required coordination with the Iraqi government.

The plan to end the combat mission

In February 2009, President Barack Obama announced at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq would end by August 31, 2010.

Out of the cities

On June 30, 2009, U.S. combat forces withdrew from Iraqi cities and towns, handing urban security to Iraqi forces. Iraqis marked the day as a national holiday.

The work continued

Thousands of U.S. troops remained, training and advising Iraqi forces, conducting counterterrorism missions with Iraqi partners, and protecting the drawdown. Attacks continued, and American service members continued to be killed and wounded.