"Honor the dead by helping¹ the living."  That’s what you’re all about. That’s what the VFW has always been about. Like you, I know that our nation has just one truly sacred obligation: to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them when they come home.

Commander Tradewell—Tommy—you’ve walked that walk. You served bravely in Vietnam, then came back and kept right on fighting to make sure your comrades got everything they deserved. Thank you for your service, over there, and over here.

To Richard Eubank, who also served at the height of（在……顶点） the Vietnam War, I want to wish you the best of luck as you take the helm（舵，驾驶盘） of this great organization at a critically important time.

And Bob—thank you for having me, and for all you do on behalf of the VFW, every day in Washington. And to Jan Tittle, President of the Ladies Auxiliary²（妇女辅助会） . Thank you for all that you do. And to my home state commander, Bob Wilkinson. And to the Ladies Auxiliary, Roberta Walter. Thank you all for your service. I particularly want to acknowledge those veterans of the Korean War, who this summer are marking the 60th Anniversary of the start of that conflict.

Over the last 111 years—from San Juan Hill to the Argonne Forest, Midway to Inchon, Hue³ City to Kuwait City, and the Korengal Valley to the Sunni Triangle—VFW members have fought for our country on both the frontlines and the home front. You and your predecessors⁴（前任） helped establish the Department of Veterans Affairs and build a National Cemetery⁵ System. You worked to secure a better future for service members and their families by helping pass two GI bills.

And you have spoken out time and again（屡次，常常） on behalf of your 2.2 million members, and for all those who have fought in America’s wars. This work—your work—has never been more important than it is today.

Over the past decade, our military has embarked⁶ on a longer period of sustained combat than ever before in our history. More than two million service members have deployed⁷ to Iraq and Afghanistan, more than half of whom have now returned to a civilian⁸ life with the honored title of “Veteran.”

Of those men and women—the very best our nation has—almost 40,000 have been wounded and 5,640 have made the ultimate sacrifice.

And President Obama is taking a major step toward concluding one of those wars, just as he pledged to do before he ever took office. One month after his inauguration⁹（就职典礼，开始） , at Camp Lejeune, President Obama laid out a plan for ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and we have followed it closely ever since.

As a result, one week from tomorrow, the U.S. combat phase of that war will close. From more than 140,000 troops in Iraq when our Administration took office, by the end of August, 50,000 will remain. Our last remaining combat unit, one that I visited with and know well, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the Army’s Second Infantry¹⁰ Division（步兵师，陆军师） , left Iraq last week.

I’m proud to say that as of September 1, the mission of the United States Forces in Iraq will be to advise, assist, train, and equip the Iraqi Security Forces; to conduct partnered counterterrorism operations; and to provide security for our military and civilian personnel and infrastructure¹¹（基础设施） .

I recently went to Fort Drum, to meet with the Army’s proud 10th Mountain Division, whose motto is “climb to glory.” God, have they climbed to glory. I was there to welcome nearly 3,000 of them back from Iraq, three months early, after they accomplished¹² all of their goals.

These homecomings are something I have long looked forward to, and I know many of you have as well. The day my son Beau returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq, and I watched him embrace his wife and children, was one of the proudest and happiest moments of my life.

By the end of next year—2011—our remaining troops in Iraq will have come home to their families and a grateful nation. This is only possible because of the extraordinary progress our military—the finest fighting force this planet has ever seen—has brought about, led by the great General Ray Odierno.

Three accomplishments¹³ are worth singling out.

First, violence in Iraq has decreased to such a degree that those who last served there three or four years ago—when the country was being torn apart by sectarian（宗派的，偏狭的） conflict—would hardly recognize the place. Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Shiite extremists remain dangerous, and their attacks still claim innocent lives. But they have utterly¹⁴ failed to achieve their objectives of inflaming¹⁵ sectarian conflict and undermining the Iraqi government.

Second, Iraq’s security forces—now more than 650,000 strong—are already leading the way to defend and protect their country. We have transferred control over hundreds of bases, and many thousands of square miles of territory. Some said that our drawdown would bring more violence. They were wrong, because the Iraqis are ready to take charge. And in recent months, operations that they led, based on intelligence they developed, killed two key leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq and purged¹⁶（净化，清洗） more than 30 other top terrorists from its ranks.

Third, but no less（仍然，不相上下） important, is the fact that Iraqi leaders who once settled disputes through violence are at this very moment, ironing out their differences in face-to-face negotiations¹⁷.

The Iraqis recently held their second national election that the world all agreed was legitimate¹⁸, and although it is taking a long time to form a government, I am convinced that this will happen soon.

Another way of putting this is that politics has broken out.

Now, I certainly don’t need to tell you that politics is not always pretty, even our own. But the hard work of forming a new government is well underway, and we urge these politicians to match the courage their citizens have shown, by completing that process.

Ever since the President asked me to oversee¹⁹（监督，审查） our Iraq policy, I have been actively²⁰ engaged, on a daily basis.  I have visited the country 13 times; I know all the players from all the leading coalitions²¹; I speak regularly with Iraqi leaders; and I understand Iraq’s intricate（复杂的，错综的） politics.  We have a first-rate Embassy team, now led by Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, that is interacting daily with the Iraqis throughout the government formation process.

Many people point to the Iranian influence in Iraq but I believe this to be exaggerated.  The Iranian government spent over $100 million dollars to try to sway the national elections but Iran failed.  The Iraqi people voted for their desired candidate, not who the Iranians wanted them to vote for.

Now the Iraqi leaders are working to form a government and we urge them to do so in a way that reflects the will of the Iraqi people.  An important step in this process is formalizing a power-sharing arrangement, which the Iraqi leaders are currently undertaking²² to do. 

This process can sometimes be frustrating²³, and there will be ups and downs, but I am confident that the Iraqis will form a national unity²⁴ government soon.

And one more thing: Drawing down our troops does not mean we are disengaging from Iraq. In fact, quite the opposite is true. While our warriors²⁵ that remain there are as capable as any in our armed services—they know how to fight if they have to—their mission has changed. They are there now to help the Iraqis help themselves.

Meanwhile, we are also ramping²⁶ up（斜生，增加） a civilian-led effort to help ensure Iraq remains²⁷ stable, sovereign, and self-reliant. We will continue to help strengthen its economic and political institutions, foster（培养，抚育） new ties of trade and commerce, and support Iraq’s return to its rightful place in the region and the broader community of nations.

While the Iraq war winds down（平静下来，慢下来） , our troops continue to take the fight to our enemies in Afghanistan.  That is where Al Qaeda plotted and trained to launch the devastating²⁸ attack on 9-11.