Iraqis are being asked to celebrate a national holiday today, their victory over invading forces. According to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, that would be us. Al-Maliki called today a day of "victory" as Iraq assumes front-line responsibility for internal security. It's a bold claim, akin to the American "mission accomplished" proclamation of May 1, 2003.

American military leadership is overlooking al-Maliki's presumption of victory, knowing that perceptions seem to count as much as reality to war-weary Iraqis.

Here is a reality we won't overlook: About 130,000 U.S. troops remain committed to the country, including 525 soldiers from four Iowa and Illinois guard and reserve units and thousands more enlisted men and women. But the role of American troops changes significantly today. When improvised explosive devices kill again, or another suicide bomber attacks a public market, it will be Iraqi-led forces who respond. American forces are to remain in training and supporting roles.

That significant change delivers on one of President Barack Obama's earliest and most persistent campaign promises: A timetable for phased American withdrawal from Iraq, something former President George W. Bush adamantly refused to do. Bush had set timetables for congressional war appropriations. He set timetables for troop deployment and even extended timetables for American reservists' service in Iraq. But he refused to set a timetable for phased withdrawal.

Thankfully, Obama is keeping that campaign promise, though this long-sought day arrives with less fanfare than anticipated during the campaign. When the promise was made, American presence in Iraq was the primary defining issue, months before energy prices soared and the deregulated mortgage industry tanked.

But we've not forgotten. A timetable for withdrawal was a critical element in our presidential endorsement.

Iraqis can call today's critical shift of U.S. military forces anything they want. We'll call it progress.