Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki came to the White House July 22 to meet at “an important moment,” president Obama said during their joint press conference.

“We’re in the midst of a full transition to Iraqi responsibility and to a comprehensive partnership between the United States and Iraq based on mutual interests and mutual respect. The success of this transition is critically important to the security and prosperity of our people, and it is a top priority of my administration,” Obama said.

The United States is committed to withdrawing combat brigades from Iraq by August 2010 and to remove all troops by 2011, Obama said. But “America stands ready to help the Iraqi government build their capacity to provide basic services and to promote the rule of law,” he said.

Speaking at Camp Victory, a U.S. military base near Baghdad, Iraq, President Obama thanked soldiers and military personnel for their critically important work in helping to make Iraq a stable country and not a haven for terrorists.

As news photographers traveling with the president snapped pictures, so did many of the troops, who captured images of their commander-in-chief with cameras and cell phones.

“You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country,” Obama told the troops. “That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that, you have the thanks of the American people.”

A transcript of the president’s remarks is available on America.gov.

President Obama has added one more stop to his first overseas tour: Iraq. Surprising even many of the staffers and journalists traveling with him, the president landed in Baghdad for meetings with American soldiers and Iraqi leaders. The secrecy around the trip, for security reasons, is not unusual. President Bush’s visits to the country were typically unannounced as well.

This is Obama’s first visit to Iraq as president, so naturally this trip will get lots of media attention. In February, the president said the United States’ combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010.

“The United States will pursue a new strategy to end the war in Iraq through a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. This strategy is grounded in a clear and achievable goal shared by the Iraqi people and the American people: an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant,” Obama said during the February announcement.