candy crowley. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." when the u.s. invaded iraq back in march 2003, few people imagined it was the start of a nightmare that would last almost nine years, cost more than 4,000 american lives, plus hundred of billions of u.s. taxpayer doll lors. the u.s. mission in iraq which had been gradually drawing down will instead come to an abrupt end in just over two months with all american forces out of iraq by year's end. president obama himself announced the end of the iraq war. >> today, i can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. over the next two months, our troops in iraq, tens of thousands of them, will pack up their gear and board convoys for the journey home. the last american soldier will cross the border out of iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the american people stand united in our support for our troops. that is how america's military efforts in iraq will end. >> let's go to our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. she's standing by over at the white house. the president avoided talking about the negotiations, intense negotiations over the past several months with the iraqi government on keeping a residual u.s. military presence in iraq. >> as recently as monday, defense secretary panetta said he was hopeful some u.s. troops quou would stay in iraq into next year. they would have stayed as advisers and trainers primarily, but this is something prime minister maliki of iraq has expressed himself. the disagreement was over granting u.s. troops immunity and the u.s. and iraq just couldn't come to terms on it. the breakdown was there and so now, u.s. troops are coming outs. the president did not mention these discussions in his remarks. instead, he said there is full agreement between himself and prime minister maliki and the white house maintains this is exactly what they have wanted all along. zero troops in iraq into next year. the president did say in his remarks that there is still the possibility that the u.s. could train some iraqi troops into the future. the president left it unclear whether when and where that could happen. >> the president seemed to make part of this dramatic announcement today at least part of a larger narrative. talk a little bit about that. >> that's right. he made it clear, wolf, that this is part of winding down the wars. not building them up. a move by this president to begin bringing troops home from both of our conflicts. listen to the president. >> the war is received. the drawdown in iraq allowed us to refocus our fight against al-qaeda and achieve major victories against its leadership including osama bin laden. >> and called it for running for president in 2008, he opposed the iraq war and made a point he would refocus on going after al-qaeda. specifically. it would seem that he is underscoring that's what he has done as president. >> and you know, it was not hard at all to see some politics in what the president had to say. >> it was striking, wasn't it? the very first sentence when he stepped behind that podium was, as candidate, that he had promised to withdraw all troops from iraq and that he has made good on that promise. it's a theme he repeated throughout his remarks. very political remarks about a war overseas. additionally, he made the point that these troops will be -- that his jobs bill has focus on veterans, reemploying veterans and he even closed with a message on the economy, so his theme was clear. he has made good on his promise as candidate and still focused on job number one, which is getting americans back to work. >> jessica yellin over at the white house where a lot is going on. thanks very much. let's talk about the politics and the substance of this with our chief political correspondent, candy crowley. she's going to have a lot on her plate sunday morning on state of the union. why can't a president simply come out and say things are moving in the right direction. it all looks good. yes, we tried to negotiate an agreement with the iraqi government that would have allowed 3,000 or 5,000 troop to stay there and train iraqi forces. help in this effort, but the iraqi government said no, so we're just moving on. why can't they just say that? >> because then it looks like you failed to do something. it is leadership to say, we're done, we're coming out. so, it's politics is about spin. we're in a political year. and we should point out that as late as last sunday when a report came out that there wasn't going to be a deal and all the troops would come home, they were pushing back hard, negotiations are still open, so this was clearly something they tried to do and failed to do. it's just hard to put that out there. you want to put your spin on it. the bottom line is the troops are coming home. it is something he promised. >> everyone's happy that all american troops of the 38,000 will be home for christmas and new year's. that's obviously great news, but the fear is and a lot of administration officials share this fear, is that iran will emerge in the long run as the big strategic winner. >> and that's true. how long is the long run? we've heard all along iran was behind this or that particular attack in iraq. it's right next door. not all that hard to get there. from the beginning, there has been iranian influence and you're already hearing this criticism from republicans and from some others who are saying whoa, we fought awfully hard. lost a lot of blood and treasure in iraq and this puts it all in jeopardy. thing is, you don't know. we're also leaving a lot of state department employees and u.s. contractors in that country without a huge contingent of military to protect them. there are a lot of risks to this. but the president can say i told you -- >> i know you've got a lot more -- stand by. i want to talk about that, he made some news with you. stand by. we're following the breaking news this hour. the dramatic announcement from the president of the united states that all u.s. troops would be out of iraq by the end of this year, some of the president's republican critics are blasting this decision. and joining us now from the white house, the president's deputy national security add virz. dennis, thanks very much for coming in. >> always good to be with you. >> we just got a statement, a blistering statement from mitt romney, the republican presidential candidate blasting the president's announcement today. let me read it to you because i want you to respond. president obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of american men and women. the unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the iraqi government. the american people deserve to hear the recommendations that were made by our military commanders in iraq. all right. tough words from mitt romney. what were the recommendations of american military commanders as far as keeping a u.s. military presence in iraq after the end of this year? >> yeah, wolf, i won't be able to respond to that statement from governor romney on iraq. he's been in a lot of different places on this, so we'll just continue to do what we do here, which is to carry out the nation's business and keep the country safe. the bottom line is this, wolf, as we've looked at this now aggressively over the course of the last couple of years, over the last six or eight months, every indication we have is that the iraqi security forces are prepared and ready to handle the security threats that they face most pressingly, most readily, so we feel very good about that. mostly however, we feel very proud about the terrific work of our troops, our diplomats through the training, the partnering and the operations they've carried out with those iraqi security forces making the situation possible that we see today, which is we are now fulfilling the security agreement that president bush gauche yalted and signed in 2008 so that we can have all our troops back and we can get back to a normal relationship with the iraqis. and that's what we're going to do. >> but over these past several weeks if not months, haven't you been trying negotiate a new sofa agreement, a status of forces grimt with the iraqi government, prime minister al maliki, that would have allowed 3,000 or 5,000 u.s. troops to remain, some military commanders wants 15,000 troops to remain. and those negotiations failed, right? >> wolf, it's hard to keep up with all the numbers you've got there. seem to track with the inaccurate press reports we've been following. here's what we have is that over the course of these three years, the president has indicated he will fulfill our responsibility end of the security agreement. there's something very powerful in the united states doing what it says it will do. the president did that with bin laden. we've done that in libya and we'll stay on the offense where we need to. that's point one. the other question is we said that if the iraqi government, the iraqi people ask us to consider a more robust security relationship to include additional people on the ground, we would consider that. but the president working with prime minister maliki and those of us who have been going back and forth to iraq over the last several months and our bam ambassador have come to the conclusion to ensure the relationship we need is to fulfill the security agreement and then are is the kind of normal diplomatic relationship that includes robust security partnership over the years to come with the iraqis. that doesn't mean we have to permanently base troops in iraq. in fact, because of the troops good work, we're in the position where we can have the iraqis take the situation over. that's exactly what we're doing here and i'll tell you, after libya, after yemen, after pakistan, i think the president has demonstrated that we don't need to have a lot of troops in foreign countries to kind of carry out the efforts we need to keep this country safe. >> how worried are you that a year from now, the big winner in that part of the world will be iran? that iraq will be a strategic relationship with iran and syria and the united states will be a major loser in that part of the world? >> i think people have been betting on the united states being a loser for a long time and everybody loses that bet. here's what i think, wolf. the united states will send its -- iranian more isolated, weaker, economically weaker, unable to live up to commitments on human rights, nuclear responsibleties and even we've learned, wolf, on their requirements to protect diplomats. very basic environment within the international community. so in so far as you're asking me whether i'm afraid about the iranian, the answer is no. the united states very strong in the region, implementing this agreement today with the iraqis out of a shared sense of strength, appreciate as the president and prime minister communicated today on their -- on their sentence and so we feel very good about it and as i look out and try to handicap whether the united states will be -- that's not a hard question to answer and i know you know the answer to that in your heart of hearts as well. >> have you, i'm not necessarily you personally, but the obama administration asked prime minister al maliki to stop supporting al assad? >> we have a very robust negotiatio negotiations discussion with the iraqis across the board. concerns about syria, concerns about iran or any other matters. the fact of the situation, wolf, is that region is looking now at what works. we've seen obviously the failure of gadhafi in libya. we've seen the great hope and change that's coming with tunisa and egypt and we see that nouri al maliki can be a symbol for the rest of the region and president assad is yesterday's news, just barely holding on in damascus. at the end of the day, we know what's today, what's past and what the future is. i think you see a multiethnic iraqi government demonstrating what's possible in the region. >> you understand the concern that a lot of people have when they see what al maliki and his government is doing in iraq right now? refusing to have this new status of forces agreement with the united states, supporting iran in terms of syria and other ibs? you understand the concern given the huge investment america has made in iraq? >> i understand the concern because we live it here. we take the steps necessary to protect this country, to support our troops on the ground in iraq, but no matter how many times you assert it, wolf, the idea that somehow we have not gotten the s.o.f.a. we sought is no more true this third time than the first two times you asserted it. we made an agreement today over the course of the last several weeks, with the iraqis on the kind of relationship we want to see going forward. the kind of secure, strengthened partnership that will serve as a model of the region for years to come. >> the president's deputy national security adviser speaking with me from the white house. much more on the president's announcement announcing the end of the war in iraq. other news we're following as well. is joe biden open to running for president of the united states down the road? candy crowley is just back from an interview with the vice president. stand by. we've got information. also, gadhafi captured alive, but dead only moments later. was he in fact executed? we have new video to share with you. 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[ male announcer ] introducing cadillac shield. the most comprehensive suite of owner benefits offered by any luxury auto maker in the world. new details are coming out about the final moments of gadhafi and they're raising serious questions about possible war crimes. was his death in fact a battlefield execution? cnn's senior international correspondent visited the site of gadhafi's death. >> reporter: this is all that remains of colonel gadhafi's convoy as he tried to escape from sirte. we're told that nato jets were involved as well as jets using hell fire missiles. these cars have been completely melted in some places. and incinerated with you can see the remains of bodies inside. in fact, there are bodies scattered all around here. somehow though, gadhafi managed to escape and run over in that direction and it was here that colonel gadhafi was found hiding under the drainway by troops. all of the people have doored their name and lots of people having a photo session. he was led up this embankment on to the highway and it's what happened to him when he got here that is now a bit of a mystery. the video clearly shows him bloodied and being beaten as he was led away from here. he was at one point on the bonnet of a car, but human rights groups are concerned the car that took him from here did not get involved in any fire fight, which begs the question, how did he end up getting shot in the head? the ntc is claiming he was hit in the cross fire. human rights watch says they don't think there was in cross fire and are suggesting perhaps that he may have been executed. you can see that there are plenty of evidence around here of other bodies here, some of which human rights watch claim were also executed. they say there are 95 bodies in this area and at least ten of them have been shot at point-blank range. >> dan rivers reporting for us from the scene. we're going to go back to libya, speak with dan, our other reporters. we got thisre with you. we'll take a quick break. 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