President Barack Obama called for an end to the United States combat in Iraq in a live press conference from the Oval Office Tuesday, Aug. 31.

Obama's announcement came a little over a week after the last combat troops pulled out of Iraq on Thurs., Aug. 19, according to a Washington Post article. About 50,000 non-combat brigades will remain in the country, mainly to train Iraqi soldiers. Both the U.S. and Iraqi governments have agreed these forces will close their operations and leave Iraq before Dec. 31, 2011.

"We've done the best job we could do," said Brother Raymond Fitz, former University of Dayton president and professor in the political science department. "Now we have to depend on Iraq to follow through."

The war, once known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, will now be referred to as Operation New Dawn, Obama said during Tuesday's address. According to Obama, the conclusion of the seven-year war is in America's best interest.

"It is time to turn the page," he said in the press conference.

Over the course of those seven years, 1.5 million troops were deployed to Iraq, with many serving multiple tours, according to the Washington Post. Over the course of the U.S. occupation, there were more than 4,400 American casualties and 32,000 wounded. It is estimated that Operation Iraqi Freedom cost the U.S. $740 billion. Approximately 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, according to the New York Daily News.

While the end of combat in Iraq is a milestone, the U.S. still has a huge presence in the war-torn country of Afghanistan, something that cannot be overlooked, according to Dr. Anthony Talbott, a UD professor in the political science department.

"It's about time," Talbott said. "But the significance of the draw down in Iraq is overshadowed by our increasingly dangerous and untenable position in Afghanistan."

According to the Washington Post, Obama now plans to focus funds on continuing the war in Afghanistan, as well as improving the U.S. economy.  

Following Obama's troop surge initiative in early 2010, there are nearly 100,000 American troops occupying Afghanistan, the most since the initial invasion of the country in 2001, according to the New York Times.

Obama's decision to end the war in Iraq is a major decision that should reflect positively on the U.S. economy, according to Fitz.

"The most important thing for college-age students in this situation is to regulate the economy so you can have a job when you graduate," Fitz said.

Most Americans of college age have little memory of a U.S. not at war with Iraq, something significant to this age group, according to Dan Hughes, a UD senior and member of Air Force ROTC.

"That will define our generation to an extent," Hughes said. "It's hard for us to remember a time when there wasn't conflict."

Hughes was expecting the possibility of deployment soon after graduation, but said it's becoming less and less of a reality that it will happen. According to Hughes, many members of Air Force ROTC may be disappointed by this fact, hoping they could be sent to the Middle East and apply the training they learned in college.

About 6,000 Air Force jobs have recently been cut either directly or indirectly from the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Hughes. Presently, more students are entering ROTC than the Air Force has jobs for, posing a problem for students hoping to make a career from their training, he said.

Even though the warfare has ended, Iraq is still somewhere to watch during the next few months, Hughes said.

"While the combat has ended, this part is even more critical," Hughes said. "This may be the make or break time for Iraq's future success."

Iraq was initially invaded on March 20, 2003, after the country was suspected to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction. George W. Bush called for a surge of troops in 2007, which then-Senator Obama opposed, CNN said. Though WMDs were never found in Iraq, the invasion was responsible for toppling Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime in the country.

"It's well known that [Bush] and I disagreed about the war from its outset," Obama said in the press conference. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security."

Several Republicans have spoken out and criticized Obama's statements, saying troops would not have been able to pull out of Iraq without Bush's troop surge, according to CBS.

"If we had done what President Obama wanted, we would have failed in Iraq," John McCain, a Republican senator from Arizon and Obama's 2008 presidential opponent, said on the CBS "Early Show" Wednesday, Sept. 1. He specifically criticized Obama for not giving Bush more credit in his Tuesday night press conference.

Vice President Joe Biden officially transferred power of combat operations to Iraq during a formal ceremony on Sept. 1, according to the New York Daily News. He confirmed that the U.S. will continue to help Iraq become stable in the upcoming year and that the new chapter in the country's future will be a positive one.

"I believe the darkest days are over," Biden said.