Obama, with al-Maliki as his side, stood with his hand on his heart as the national anthems of the U.S. and Iraq played. Both men are observing the end of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, with all troops due out Dec. 31.
Service members stood at attention, lining the curving drive past the sea of white tombstones, most decorated with wreaths.
Both leaders carried the wreath to its resting place. They then stood quietly as a bugler played "Taps."
The withdrawal of all American troops on Dec. 31 marks the end of a nearly nine-year war that has been deeply divisive in both the U.S. and Iraq. While Obama and al-Maliki have pledged to maintain strong ties, the contours of the partnership between Washington and Baghdad remain murky, especially with Iran eager to assert influence over neighboring Iraq. And serious questions remain about Iraq's capacity to stabilize both its politics and security.
Yet the end of the war still marks a promise kept for Obama, one the White House is eager to promote. In addition to his meeting with al-Maliki, Obama will mark the milestone Wednesday when he speaks to troops at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. And he thanked service members and their families for their sacrifices when he attended the annual Army-Navy football game Saturday.
Monday's White House talks focused on how the U.S. and Iraq will cooperate without the presence of U.S. forces which are in the final phase of a December 31 withdrawal. The two leaders also discussed issues such as trade, energy, education and U.S. investment in Iraq.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Maliki later laid wreaths at nearby Arlington National Cemetery, where some of the nearly 4,500 U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 are buried.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi prime minister is expected to accompany Mr. Obama to North Carolina, where the U.S. president to will thank troops returning home from Iraq.
In Brussels Monday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance will permanently shut down its seven-year training mission in Iraq and withdraw all of its soldiers at the end of the month.
The decision follows Mr. Obama's announcement in October that U.S. troops would return home at year's end after talks to keep thousands of trainers in Iraq fell apart over Baghdad's insistence that all NATO personnel in the country be subject to Iraqi laws and jurisprudence.
U.S. officials had asked for about 3,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq, but the Iraqi government was not able to push any agreement on immunity through parliament. The failure to agree on an immunity deal also led to the NATO pullout.
These developments have heightened concern about a power vacuum in the country that could be exploited by neighboring Iran.
Both countries have Shi'ite majorities and many Iraqi politicians spent time in exile in Iran during then-dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. One of Mr. Maliki's main allies – anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr – is believed to have spent most of his time in Iran.
Several thousand U.S. troops remain in Iraq, more than eight years after invading the country to oust Saddam Hussein.
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