Many media outlets and "fact checkers" have reported that Bush was responsible for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq because he signed an agreement to that effect. However, this agreement was merely a placeholder to signal that the troops would not stay indefinitely. Media reports at the time of the pullout explained that "everyone" expected this date would be extended, but the Obama administration undercut the negotiations and refused to use a simple process to extend the date. Obama then boasted on more than a dozen occasions that he pulled the troops out of Iraq. Then when ISIS began sweeping through the nation executing, raping, and enslaving the Iraqi people, Obama changed his story and declared that Bush was responsible for withdrawing the troops. In turn, the media parroted Obama's claim.