House GOP leader talks Iraq in Milw.

MILWAUKEE (AP) - House Republican leader John Boehner is jabbing at lawmakers who thought the Iraq surge would never work.

Boehner spoke at the American Legion's national convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon, hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq in a speech from the Oval Office.

Boehner says leaders who criticized the surge are now proudly claiming credit for its success. He thanked Obama for setting aside his "rhetoric."

Boehner cautioned Iraq will remain a target for the United States' enemies. He says he wants Obama to discuss what the country would do if progress achieved so far there is threatened.

Combat in Iraq has left more than 4,400 U.S. troops dead and thousands more wounded.