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Title: Obama Adviser Calls for 60,000-80,000 U.S. Troops To Stay in Iraq Through 2010
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URL Source: http://www2.nysun.com/article/74207
Published: Apr 4, 2008
Author: Eli Lake
Post Date: 2008-04-04 10:26:15 by christine
Keywords: None
Views: 4670
Comments: 86
WASHINGTON — A key adviser to Senator Obama's campaign is recommending in a confidential paper that America keep between 60,000 and 80,000 troops in Iraq as of late 2010, a plan at odds with the public pledge of the Illinois senator to withdraw combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. The paper, obtained by The New York Sun, was written by Colin Kahl for the center-left Center for a New American Security. In "Stay on Success: A Policy of Conditional Engagement," Mr. Kahl writes that through negotiations with the Iraqi government "the U.S. should aim to transition to a sustainable over-watch posture (of perhaps 60,000–80,000 forces) by the end of 2010 (although the specific timelines should be the byproduct of negotiations and conditions on the ground)." Mr. Kahl is the day-to-day coordinator of the Obama campaign's working group on Iraq. A shorter and less detailed version of this paper appeared on the center's Web site as a policy brief. Both Mr. Kahl and a senior Obama campaign adviser reached yesterday said the paper does not represent the campaign's Iraq position. Nonetheless, the paper could provide clues as to the ultimate size of the residual American force the candidate has said would remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of combat brigades. The campaign has not publicly discussed the size of such a force in the past. This is not the first time the opinion of an adviser to the Obama campaign has differed with the candidate's stated Iraq policy. In February, Mr. Obama's first foreign policy tutor, Samantha Power, told BBC that the senator's current Iraq plan would likely change based on the advice of military commanders in 2009. She has since resigned her position as a formal adviser. The political ramifications of the disclosure are yet to be seen. The perception of a harder line in Iraq could help Mr. Obama combat charges by Senator McCain in a general election that Mr. Obama favors a hasty surrender and retreat in Iraq. But it could hurt the Obama campaign with anti-war voters in the Democratic primaries. Mr. Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Clinton, has called for withdrawing troops from Iraq, but an architect of the surge has told the Sun that she has been wary of a precipitous withdrawal. In a situation with some parallels to this one, Mr. Obama suffered some political damage on the trade issue when he called publicly for a renegotiation of NAFTA while a policy adviser reportedly met with Canadian officials and downplayed the chances of a NAFTA retreat. In an interview yesterday, a senior Obama foreign affairs adviser, Susan Rice, said the Iraq working group is not the last word on the campaign's Iraq policy. "We have experts and scholars with a range of views and Barack appreciates this range of views. They are in think tanks and like me they write in their own voice, they are people who do their independent scholarship. Barack Obama cannot be held accountable for what we all write," she said. Ms. Rice said she had not seen the paper, which is marked as a draft and "not for attribution without author's permission." Mr. Kahl yesterday said, "This has absolutely zero to do with the campaign." He added, "There are elements that are consistent with the Democratic Party's approach, and I will leave it to others to find out if there are elements that are not." Mr. Kahl's approach would call on the remaining troops in Iraq to play an "over-watch role." The term is used by Multinational Forces Iraq to describe the long term goal of the coalition force presence in the country, Mr. Kahl said in an interview. "It refers to the U.S. being out of the lead, largely in a support role. It doesn't mean the U.S. does not do things like targeted counterterrorism missions or continue to train and advise the Iraqis," he said. "It would not be 150,000 Americans taking the lead in counterinsurgency." Mr. Obama's policy to date also allows for a residual force for Iraq. In early Iowa debates, the senator would not pledge to remove all soldiers from Iraq, a distinction from his promise to withdraw all combat brigades. Also, Mr. Obama has stipulated that he would be open to having the military train the Iraqi Security Forces if he received guarantees that those forces would not be the shock troops of one side of an Iraqi civil war. But the Obama campaign has also not said how many troops would make up this residual force. "We have not put a number on that. It depends on the circumstances on the ground," Ms. Rice said. She added, "It would be worse than folly, it would be dangerous, to put a hard number on the residual forces." Mr. Kahl's paper laid out what he called a "middle way" between unlimited engagement in Iraq and complete and rapid disengagement. The approach is contingent, he said, on the progress and willingness of Iraq's major confessional parties in reaching political accommodation. "There is a fundamental difference in the assumption between the Democratic approach and the Bush-McCain approach. That approach is premised on the assumption the Iraqi government wants to reach accommodation and what they need is time. The surge is premised on the notion of creating breathing space," Mr. Kahl said. He added that his strategy would pressure and entice the Iraqi government to begin political accommodation by not only starting the withdrawal, but also by stating that America had no intention to hold permanent bases in the country.
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#47. To: aristeides (#46)
That's the same person.
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac
I was called a communist and insane yesterday for having a difference of opinion with someone regarding Mass. health care. Seems to be a pattern. Now I have 3 on bozo.
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
Nuts.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" And I have repeatedly been called a "Commie" by several posters here over the past week or so.
To reason, indeed, he was not in the habit of attending. His mode of arguing, if it is to be so called, was one not uncommon among dull and stubborn persons, who are accustomed to be surrounded by their inferiors. He asserted a proposition; and, as often as wiser people ventured respectfully to show that it was erroneous, he asserted it again, in exactly the same words, and conceived that, by doing so, he at once disposed of all objections. - Macaulay, "History of England," Vol. 1, Chapter 6, on James II.
For me its why bother as the assertation is its own critique.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" yeah, i did. show me. also, you seem to have missed _______'s answer to PnbC in #39.
I've been called a communist, a nazi, a zionist, a dope-fiend, a control freak, trailer trash, an elitist, an America hater, a nationalist, and a kook. And some poor soul got the idea somewhere that I'm a hindu. I guess I'm what they call "complex".
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac
I took #39 to be an attack on me. PnbC has explained to me that it was not.
To reason, indeed, he was not in the habit of attending. His mode of arguing, if it is to be so called, was one not uncommon among dull and stubborn persons, who are accustomed to be surrounded by their inferiors. He asserted a proposition; and, as often as wiser people ventured respectfully to show that it was erroneous, he asserted it again, in exactly the same words, and conceived that, by doing so, he at once disposed of all objections. - Macaulay, "History of England," Vol. 1, Chapter 6, on James II.
So has Robin. These words are in my view meangingless emoticons. Seems to me all governments are "communistic" the only concern is to keep it working for the decent citizens and not cliques of the elite. What are we going to do, all build our own road to the next town? The communisum charge has political and emotive weight due to its demonization of Russia and China etc, yet our own home grown monsters have done many of the same things those regimes have. If Clinton gets elected and re elected we would have had a Bush Clinton regime in power for twenty eight years. Thats a regime.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" ah, ok. it was directed at _______, not you. this medium can be problematic. the written word often times is perceived as much harsher than intended and someone will focus on a phrase or a few words of a comment, taking it out of context, rather than the totality of it. we're all very opinionated too and emotions run high on many of the topics we discuss.
well said, tom
I guess I'm what they call "complex". very!
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
I've decided the old labels we have for parties and governments are meaningless. If EU is socialist, what is the US with the ZioNazis and the Bush Regime?
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
The personal attacks against me are recent also. I have not actually used the bozo filter before.
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
A for-profit kibbutz?
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac
The labels are to control fear or stifle discussion. Look no further the small government less spending republican ideology in action! I am so far right that I am left.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" I am so far right that I am left. lol!
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
You bozoed me because you were unable to explain how you could, on one hand, spend years posting articles accusing the United States federal government of participating in every evil action ever thought of, while on the other hand, demanding that we all put our trust in this same entity because only they have our best interests in mind as it pertains to healthcare. When I pointed out the insanity of holding these two views, you ran away. In hindsite, instead of insanity, I should have used illogical. It is not logical to spend years believing the worst about the federal government and then turn around and claim that this same government will have your best interests in mind in regards to healthcare.
Maybe because you have never been been a proponent of turning to the government for your wants until recently. However, a little review will show that those who look to the government to solve their wants have never had an easy go of it here. Does the name Minerva ring a bell? He/She was trounced on a regular basis for her big governmet beliefs. There have been several others as well. Now you're even trying to play the victim when it's you who have changed, not others.
I find it interesting that people still claim that Obama and the DP are "anti- war." Just look at all of the information that has come up concerning the lies and outright criminal actions on the part of ther Bush administration, yet not a word about it from the lips of Obama or the DP. Where are the calls for investigation? Where are the calls for impeachment? There are none. For that matter, it's not even being discussed! Why isn't this issue being used by Obama and the DP to hammer the RP? Why isn't Obama and the DP denouncing these actions? Why? Because they are all part of the same two party fraud. They are an oligarchy and both McCain, Hillary, and Obama are members in good standing of this oligarchy. Those who are not members in good standing get treated like Paul and Kacinich.
exactly...and i've posted that so many times, my finger tips are raw. ;)
Supporting one party over the other is similar to supporting the bloods over the crips. Both have the same goals, the only disagreement concerns distribution of the loot.
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac
As long as the troops are all Kenyan, like Obama's drunken slob lecher of a father, it's fine with me.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
Funny, ain't it? I've been called a Nazi, a fascist, a right-winger, an America hater, a Bush lover, a Zionist, an anti-Semite, a leftist, a closet homoexual, a homophobe, a racist, and other things I have forgotten.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
i'll add one. sexist. ;)
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article983625.ece
'Individuals should not take responsibility for their own defense. That’s what the police are for. ... If I oppose individuals defending themselves, I have to support police defending them. I have to support a police state.”' Alan Dershowitz
You left out hill billy...how come? That is an honorable description.
These are the cigarettes this Turtle smokes.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
That one's true.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
I thot maybe you had gone uppity on the rest of us. Nothing worse than an uppity hill billy.
No one has me on bozo because I'm so lovable. Besides, Farmfriend is at the end of the line for the Magic Wand, and if she bozos me she'll be out of the line permanently!
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
Turtle and family.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
There is a resemblance.
I don't have red hair, ha ha.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
One person put me on bozo after the last contentious AGW thread. Their loss. You don't want to try my ear muffs do you? Natural, home grown...ear muffs.
I don't care for the bozo/kill file feature, but have been using it for the first time when posters aggressively promote the social cancer of racism. It has been nice not looking at that diarrhea of a pointless spew. Everyone is off the bozo for the time being, as that is something I don't feel someone should do in a forum on a long term basis.
I admit I have been tempted.
"I can kill you with my brain." - River Tam
I didn't agree with saddling up with Communists in WWII, I didn't agree with the World Communist UN on American soil and I'LL BE DAMNED before I hitch up with any Communists in a revolution. To hell with the Communists, NeoCommunists and Neoconservatives!
LOL, that's about the right size anyway.
#48. To: aristeides (#44)
#49. To: christine (#0)
"Stay on Success: A Policy of Conditional Engagement,
#50. To: robin, Christine (#48)
#51. To: aristeides (#44)
, and on the absence of any criticism or disagreement, except from myself.
#52. To: aristeides, _______, PnbC (#44)
You seem not to have noticed the applause that that poster got on this thread,
#53. To: aristeides, robin (#50)
#54. To: christine, PnbC (#52)
#55. To: aristeides (#50)
repeatedly been called a "Commie" by several posters here over the past week or so.
#56. To: aristeides (#54)
#57. To: tom007 (#55)
#58. To: Dakmar (#53)
And some poor soul got the idea somewhere that I'm a hindu.
#59. To: tom007 (#55)
#60. To: aristeides (#50)
#61. To: robin (#59)
If EU is socialist, what is the US with the ZioNazis and the Bush Regime?
#62. To: robin (#59)
I've decided the old labels we have for parties and governments are meaningless.
#63. To: Dakmar, tom007 (#61)
A for-profit kibbutz?
#64. To: robin (#48)
I was called a communist and insane yesterday for having a difference of opinion with someone regarding Mass. health care. Seems to be a pattern. Now I have 3 on bozo.
#65. To: robin (#60)
The personal attacks against me are recent also. I have not actually used the bozo filter before.
#66. To: christine (#0)
#67. To: Hayek Fan (#66)
Why? Because they are all part of the same two party fraud. They are an oligarchy and both McCain, Hillary, and Obama are members in good standing of this oligarchy. Those who are not members in good standing get treated like Paul and Kacinich.
#68. To: Hayek Fan (#66)
#69. To: christine (#0)
#70. To: Dakmar (#53)
(Edited)
I've been called a communist, a nazi, a zionist, a dope-fiend, a control freak, trailer trash, an elitist, an America hater, a nationalist, and a kook. And some poor soul got the idea somewhere that I'm a hindu.
#71. To: YertleTurtle (#70)
#72. To: YertleTurtle (#70)
#73. To: YertleTurtle (#70)
and other things I have forgotten.
#74. To: robin (#72)
#75. To: Cynicom (#73)
You left out hill billy...how come?
#76. To: YertleTurtle (#75)
#77. To: robin, farmfriend (#48)
Now I have 3 on bozo.
#78. To: Cynicom (#76)
Nothing worse than an uppity hill billy.
#79. To: YertleTurtle (#78)
#80. To: Cynicom (#79)
There is a resemblance.
#81. To: YertleTurtle, robin (#77)
No one has me on bozo because I'm so lovable.
Besides, Farmfriend is at the end of the line for the Magic Wand, and if she bozos me she'll be out of the line permanently!
Vote Republicrat or Democin, it doesn't matter, you still get McHillobama
#82. To: farmfriend (#81)
Obama for president 2008
#83. To: Ferret Mike (#82)
It has been nice not looking at that diarrhea of a pointless spew.
Vote Republicrat or Democin, it doesn't matter, you still get McHillobama
#84. To: farmfriend (#81)
You don't want to try my ear muffs do you?
#85. To: christine (#52)
#86. To: YertleTurtle (#84)
Vote Republicrat or Democin, it doesn't matter, you still get McHillobama
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