Obama Running Up Against Iraq Pullout Deadline

Last February, President Obama told troops at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, that he planned to remove combat brigades from Iraq by the end of this summer.

"Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," he said.

The president said up to 50,000 troops would remain in a non-combat capacity after the deadline. All troops, he added, would be out of the country by the end of 2011.

The U.S. military has roughly 94,000 in Iraq now; to meet the president's deadline, it must thus cut that number nearly in half by the end of August.

It won't be easy.

As CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reported Thursday, "first the delay in the Iraqi elections and then the dispute over the results has forced Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander in Iraq, to slow down his withdrawal plans."

"Right now, it is still possible to move that many troops - but just barely," wrote Martin. "Any further delay in the drawdown will cause him to miss the deadline."

That contention is backed up by TPMmuckraker, which crunched the numbers on meeting the president's deadline. The military would have to pull out 14,000 troops each month through August to get down to the level promised by the president (factoring in current plans to get troop levels to 91,000 by the end of May).

Military observers told TPM that doing so would take a serious logistical push.

"We do want to pull all their unit equipment out with them," said Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.). "That's not trivial. But major stuff like vehicles that are a bit of a challenge -- it wouldn't surprise me if we would keep some or move those out a little more slowly."

Another observer sounded a note of cautious optimism.

"They may be cutting it close in terms of a cut-off point where meeting the deadline becomes unfeasible from a technical perspective, but I haven't seen anything to make me think that they would be missing the deadline," military affairs researcher Peter Juul said.

[worldcitizen1]

Those responsible of the disastrous US war in Iraq are living comfortably, while millions suffer and hundreds of thousands are dead. Go figure?

[K. Daraa]

The US is in a lose-lose situation with Iraq, and arguably, Afghanistan too. Barack's promise on withdrawing US troops from Iraq by the end of summer 2010, will probably play out, just as his promise on closing Guantanamo did...real factors on the ground, will change the outcome.

Its obvious that our failure to withdraw US forces from Iraq will play right into the propaganda efforts of Iraqi extremist groups of all persuasions there. Even if we leave 50,000 "non-combatant" troops, they will still be characterized as "occupiers", by the extremists.

If the US waits to remove troops until the last minute, it will appear as a retreat, or surrender, as they are forced to rush everything.

If Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence escalates, following US troop withdrawals, the US will be blamed for abandoning the fledgling Iraqi nation, after destroying its original functioning government in 2003.

There is even the threat of Iran, to the emerging Iraqi nation. Few people remember that Iraq and Iran were at war shortly before Saddam's mistake in Kuwait in 1990. Not many of the pre-OIF military assets like thousands of tanks and armored personnel carriers remain for defense of Iraq. Perhaps the US should consider a limited defense agreement with Iraq, prior to withdrawing US troops?

Overall, despite Obamaspeak, our perceived outcome for Iraq is bleak.

[RobAla]

Setting a time line to end a war is ill-conceived in the first place. Military action should based on certain benchmarks, not a date. The President's setting of a date was purely political, not practical or even smart.

[DavidGig3]

"Setting a time line to end a war is ill-conceived."

Not when you're the one who started it.

[euge005]

It is about time that this country had an honest man as President. I am so thankful that the not quite so maverick and his gold digging running mate lost. What a pair of discraces. But the question of having our occupation forces out on time or not, the war of aggresssion that Pres Chany and his oil stooges started will never be over until the war crimes trials and sentances. These must be held in Iraq where the 150,000 civilian dead can whisper to the jurors and the 2 million displaced can come from their refugee ghettos to demand justice. Then this country will have to pay the reparations and we can expect those oil companies to pay them.

[ConstitutionGal912]

Honest? You've got to be kidding. Obama's (SEIU) Health Care Bill is going to be double from what he said. He has increased the deficit by almost 3 times in 1 year ...more than all presidents combined. He was going to downsize the Gov't. Well, he is downsizing our military while increasing the federal end by 50%. Unbelievable.

[stn_sage]

This will just be another in a long line of promises he made, that he didn't really intend to keep, and that he ends up breaking!

A corollary to the motto that: the ends justify the means, would be: the excuse justifies the lie!

[euge005]

Brought to you by Rush and the RNC. Lies and excuses began with the regime that launched the invasion not with our Elected leader.

[pasmalltown]

by stn_sage May 14, 2010 7:33 PM EDT
This will just be another in a long line of promises he made, that he didn't really intend to keep, and that he ends up breaking!
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How the world can you think you can measure his "intentions"?
If you "presume" to be able to do this, you can say he's "lying".
The flip side to your type of thinking is, he has the wisedom to change a strategy as events that effect that strategy change. The key word being "change" and not stuck in the mud looking for something or someone to blame.............