Gen. Casey: US combat troops to remain in Iraq for 10 years

"I have chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades [from Iraq] over the next 18 months... Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."
Barack Obama addressing US troops at Camp Lejeune - Feb. 2009

From the AP - May 26, 2009:

The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars...

He said his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a sustained U.S. commitment to fighting extremism and terrorism in the Middle East...

Casey said... the military was preparing to have a fighting force deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan for years to come...

This scenario, he said, must take into account that "we're going to have 10 Army and Marine units deployed for a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."