Still Iraq's 'strong partner'

President Obama addressed the nation Tuesday night to mark that day's official end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. Fittingly, it was not a victory speech. Nor, however, was it even remotely an expression of defeat or retreat.

Instead, the president rightly hailed the considerable sacrifices and progress made in Iraq -- and rightly re-affirmed America's resolve to assist that beleaguered nation in its ongoing quest for sustainable self-government. As the president put it: "Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq's future is not."

The 50,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq signify that commitment. They are no longer in "combat" roles, thanks in part to recent semantic adjustments by the Pentagon, but many are still in harm's way. The president said that "transitional force" will leave Iraq by the end of 2011, "consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government."

Don't count on it. Circumstances might force an extension of our military presence in Iraq to help preserve its hard-won gains.

The president urged Iraqis to "move forward with a sense of urgency to form an inclusive government that is just, representative, and accountable."

He added that "when that government is in place, there should be no doubt -- the Iraqi people will have a strong partner in the United States."

The U.S. military has borne the brunt of our national commitment to Iraq, suffering more than 4,400 fatalities. The commander in chief aptly stressed that point: "The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given. They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people. Together with Iraqis and coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future."

President Obama even gave a salute -- of sorts -- to his White House predecessor, saying that while they disagreed about this war, "no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security."

No one can doubt, either, that both sides of the American political spectrum have made mistakes on Iraq. President Bush (among others) was wrong about Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction. President Obama (among others) was wrong in predicting that the 2007 "surge" ordered by President Bush would fail.

At this point, though, rehashing those old debates serves no positive purpose. Too many critical challenges remain on a variety of fronts.

The U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will reach its ninth anniversary before year's end, and a new diplomatic test begins today as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks open in Washington (see Thomas Friedman's column on today's Commentary page).

And the responsibility of Iraq's "strong partner" has not ended.