Obama rewrites Iraq plan
By MIKE ALLEN | 7/3/08 4:16 PM EST
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Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) promised primary voters a swift withdrawal
from Iraq, in clear language still on his Web site: “Obama will
immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one
to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades
out of Iraq within 16 months.”

Not anymore. Heading into the holiday weekend, Obama and his advisers
repudiated that pledge, saying he is reevaluating his plan and will
incorporate advice from commanders on the ground when he visits Iraq
later this month.

A top Obama adviser said he is not “wedded” to a specific timeline and
Obama said Thursday he plans to “refine” his plan.

“I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he told
reporters in Fargo, N.D., according to CBS News. "When I go to Iraq
and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground,
I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my
policies."

But he went on to maintain: “I have been consistent throughout this
process that I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.”

David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, went even further during
remarks Wednesday on CNN’s “Situation Room,” telling guest host John
Roberts that Obama has actually advocated “a phased withdrawal, with
benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, that called for strategic
pauses, based on the progress on these benchmarks, and advice on the
commanders on the ground.”

“He's always said that he would listen to the advice of commanders on
the ground, that that would factor into his thinking,” Axelrod said.
“He's also always said that we had to be as careful getting out of
Iraq as we were careless getting in. So he's been very consistent on
this point. …

“I think he will take the advice, not just the advice of the
commanders on the ground, but his general assessment of conditions on
the ground in calibrating that withdrawal. He said he thought we could
get one to two brigades out a month. But he's not wedded to that in
the face of events. No president would be. And he's always said that
he's never said that this withdrawal would be without any possibility
of alteration based on events on the ground. That would not be a
prudent thing to do for any president.”

unarmedman wrote:*SHOCKER!*

The Code is Almighty wrote:Well, the death toll in Afghanistan has been higher than Iraq's for the past two months, so at least that's some good news.

Things must be getting better in Iraq.

The Code is Almighty wrote:Well, the death toll in Afghanistan has been higher than Iraq's for the past two months, so at least that's some good news.

Things must be getting better in Iraq.

unarmedman wrote:

The Code is Almighty wrote:Well, the death toll in Afghanistan has been higher than Iraq's for the past two months, so at least that's some good news.

Things must be getting better in Iraq.

I do hope that's really true. Even though I think the Iraq war is principally flawed, I'd be nonetheless happy to see stabilization. It would be better still if it were minus the U.S. presence.

I find it interesting that was reported on most major news stations the same day Obama gave his press conference re:Iraq. I get the eerie sensation that public opinion is being given a little 'nudge' here.