BREAKING NEWS

Obama to host Iraq's Maliki before troop pullout

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will host Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the White House on Dec. 12, the White House said on Friday, just weeks before the last of American troops are slated to leave the country.
The United States has about 40,000 troops in Iraq. Obama said last month that they will be withdrawn by Dec. 31 according to the terms of a 2008 bilateral security pact.