1:30 pm ET:  If you missed the speech, CNN has the brief statement below. From his remarks: "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," Obama said. "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." (via AP).

1:13 pm ET: Obama said that "After a decade of war, the nation that we need to build -- and the national we will build -- is our own." (via The Hill) 

1:02 pm ET:  "After nearly nine years," said the president, "America's war in Iraq will be over." (via AP)

12:54 pm ET: In his address, President Obama has said that U.S. troops will be home from Iraq by the end of the year. "Today, I can say to our troops in Iraq—you’re definitely coming home for the holidays," he said. He also used a word that many have been hoping for since the Iraq war began, an "end." "The long war in Iraq will come to an end, the transition in Afghanistan is moving forward and our troops are coming home."

President Obama will announce today that the U.S. military forces will withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year, although reports conflict on whether it will be an absolute end to the eight-year American presence in the country. He's scheduled to make a speech at 12:45 p.m., and ABC News's Jake Tapper is reporting, "the president will announce today that US troops in Iraq will draw down to zero by the end of the year." But CNN also spoke to sources and they are a bit less absolute in their flash report, going with, "Virtually all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year as the current Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq dictates, a U.S. official told CNN Friday." Tapper adds that Obama briefed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at around 11:30 a.m. with the news.

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Erik Hayden