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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Army chiefs urge caution for Obama's planned troop cuts WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama is not backing away from his campaign promise to bring all U.S. combat troops home from Iraq by late spring 2010. Barack Obama meets with U.S. Army personnel in Basra, Iraq, on July 21. But the question among sober-mined Pentagon planners is: Once he is in office, will the reality of war force him to reassess and put the brakes on a withdrawal? Smart politicians always leave themselves an out, essentially reserving the right to right to renege on a campaign promise if conditions change. For now, though, the transition team for the president-elect is signaling that Obama plans to fulfill his pledge to put U.S. troops on a fast track for home. "He'll listen to military commanders on the ground in -- in Iraq, but I think that we want to withdraw," John Podesta, co-chairman of the Obama transition team, told CNN's John King over the weekend. "I think he's clear that he wants to withdraw the combat force from Iraq in a responsible way and that the time frame that he put out is, again, is consistent with where the Iraqi government is today," Podesta said on CNN's "Late Edition." But U.S. commanders remain wary of pulling out of Iraq too fast, and Monday provided another example why. Violence may be down overall in Iraq, but any given day can explode with a round of bombings that can claim dozens of lives. On Monday, more than 35 Iraqis were killed in suicide attacks: three bombings in Baghdad and one in Baqouba. So while the average Iraqi may want the U.S. out now, the average Iraqi commander or police chief is not in so much of a hurry, says one deputy U.S. commander. Marine Maj. Gen. Martin Post, whose area of responsibility includes Anbar province, said at a Pentagon briefing, "They would probably tell you, 'Hey, we need you here for some period of time longer,' not really ever saying, 'We need you here for one year or two years.' But I think we're still, if you would, that security blanket for them in the -- standing behind them." Post says Anbar province, once one of the most violent and the base of operations for al Qaeda in Iraq, has settled down under the authority of the Awakening Councils and Sons of Iraq and can get by with fewer U.S. troops. "Later this year or early -- early 2009, there would probably be potential continued reductions out here. And I think we would be able to probably handle that quite nicely," Post said. That dovetails somewhat with the thinking of Obama, Podesta says. "We need to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq," Podesta said. "That doesn't mean all troops will be eliminated from Iraq. It will still be necessary for force protection and our counter-terrorism mission and to -- and to do -- continue training of Iraqi forces. "But we can get our combat force out of Iraq, pay attention to Afghanistan, and do that on -- I believe, on the time frame that President-elect Obama has suggested."
Poster Comment: What a delight! One week post selection and the wiggle-room has begun. EARTH TO PILES - OUR TROOPS AREN'T LEAVING IRAQ. Told you so......
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#1. To: Jethro Tull, all (#0)
Obama will wet himself when he is told the stark news that this country, this military and this government has been and is planning on war with China/Russia, one or both. When he is confronted with reality that the others are doing so also, he may have a total breakdown.
Gotta love the wacky WG'ers. They really believed the fancy schwarzer meant what he said. We knew better.
I suspect Congo Obongo has not a clue as to the inner workings of the military and the people that control the Pentagon. For you to recall...If you remember Clinton had at least one balanced budget. The way it was done was by slashing the military of 100,000 ground troops. Does that number ring a bell as to the present troop proposals????????????????
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