the withdrawal of american military forces from iraq has been a contentious issue within the united states since the beginning of the iraq war. as the war has progressed from its initial 2003 invasion phase to a multi--year occupation, u.s. public opinion has turned in favor of troop withdrawal. as of may 2007, 55 percent of americans believed that the iraq war was a mistake, and 51 percent of registered voters favored troop withdrawal. in late april 2007, the u.s. congress passed a supplementary spending bill for iraq that sets a deadline for troop withdrawal, but president bush vetoed this bill soon afterwards. all us forces were mandated to withdraw from iraqi territory by december 31, 2011 under the terms of a bilateral agreement signed in 2008 by president bush. the u.s. troop withdrawal from iraq was completed on december 18, 2011 early sunday morning. SFX MCL ( 13, 6, 2) -lelisu inquma i entry. I umugqa obomvu ibonisa ukubaluleka evulekile nsuku zonke.