Obama Aides: U.S. Out Of Iraq In 19 Months

White House Officials Expect President To Unveil Withdrawal Plan This Week

(CBS/AP)  President Barack Obama plans to order that all U.S. combat troops be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010, administration officials said Tuesday, ending the war that defined his upstart presidential campaign three months later than he had promised.

Obama's plan would pull out all combat troops 19 months after his inauguration, although he had promised repeatedly during the 2008 campaign that he would withdraw them 16 months after taking office. That schedule, based on removing roughly one brigade a month, was predicated on commanders determining that it would not endanger U.S. troops left behind or Iraq's fragile security.

Pledging to end the war in 16 months helped to build enormous grass-roots support for Obama's White House bid.

The withdrawal plan - an announcement could come as early as this week - calls for leaving a large contingent of troops behind, between 30,000 and 50,000 troops, to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to protect U.S. interests.

They would still be capable of conducting combat operations and would be able to call in strikes from carrier- or land-based aircraft, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.

Also staying beyond the 19 months would be intelligence and surveillance specialists and their equipment, including unmanned aircraft, according to two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.

The complete withdrawal of American forces will take place by December 2011, the period by which the U.S. agreed with Iraq to remove all troops.

A senior White House official said Tuesday that Obama is at least a day away from making a final decision. He further said an announcement on Wednesday was unlikely, but he said that Obama could discuss Iraq during a trip to North Carolina later this week.

A Pentagon official confirmed to CBS News that Mr. Obama is going to Camp Lejuene, N.C. on Friday where he is expected to announce his Iraq plan. Many of the Marines at Lejuene were scheduled to go to Iraq, but are now bound for Afghanistan as part of the 17,000 troop buildup, Martin reports.

About 142,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq, roughly 14 brigades, about 11,000 more than the total in Iraq when President George W. Bush announced in January 2007 that he would "surge" the force to put down the insurgency. He sent an additional 21,000 combat troops to Baghdad and Anbar province.

Although the number of combat brigades has dropped from 20 to 14, the U.S. has increased the number of logistical and other support troops. A brigade is usually about 3,000 to 5,000 troops.

Obama's campaign promise to withdraw troops in 16 months was based on a military estimate on what would be an orderly pace of removing troops, given the logistical difficulties of removing so many people and tons of equipment, a U.S. military official said.

The 19-month strategy is a compromise between commanders and advisers who are worried that security gains could backslide in Iraq and those who think the bulk of U.S. combat work is long since done.

The White House considered at least two other options to withdraw combat forces - one that followed Obama's 16-month timeline and one that stretched withdrawal over 23 months, The Associated Press reported earlier this month.

By choosing 19 months, the president is not locked into a hard and fast timetable - he can always slow it down if conditions on the ground get worse, reports Martin.

Some U.S. commanders have spoken more optimistically in recent months about prospects for reducing the force.

Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly, who just left his job overseeing U.S. operations in Anbar Province, said Tuesday that he saw violence drop to an almost "meaningless" level over the past year.

Kelly told reporters Tuesday that in the area that was the home ground of the Sunni insurgency, American combat forces don't have enough to do and most could have pulled out months ago.

"There is still a security issue there, but in the province I just left the (Iraqi) army and the police are more than handling the remnants of what used to be al Qaeda," Kelly said. "There's other parts of Iraq that aren't going quite as well but all of Iraq is doing pretty well."

According to officials, Obama had requested a range of options from his top military advisers, including one that would have withdrawn troops in 16 months. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had recently forwarded withdrawal alternatives to the White House for Obama's consideration.

In addition to the U.S. troops to be withdrawn, there is a sizable cadre of contractors who provide services to them who would pack their bags as well. There were 148,050 defense contractor personnel working in Iraq as of December, 39,262 of them U.S. citizens.

There are more than 200 U.S. military installations in Iraq. According to Army officials interviewed by the Government Accountability Office, it can take up to two months to shut down small outposts that hold up to 300 troops. Larger entrenched facilities, like Balad Air Base, could take up to 18 months to close, according to the GAO.

As of Monday, at least 4,250 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. More than 31,000 have been injured. An additional 35,841 have received medical air transport due to non-hostile incidents.

Congress has approved more than $657 billion so far for the Iraq war, according to a report last year from the Congressional Research Service.

[sndkzyaa]

Iraq HAD WMDs and they were destroyed, just like the UN told GW and his boys. Attempting to tie Clinton into the Bush LIES is classic though, keep trying.
Posted by gravyboat63 at 6:57 PM : Feb 25, 2009

For the sake of argument, suppose the UN did find WMD in Iraq.

That would PROVE that Saddam was willing and ABLE to maintain an inventory of WMD in spite of strict sanctions.

If he had some, who knows if he had more hidden somewhere that were never found.

If ANY WMD were found in Iraq after 1991, then neither Clinton nor Bush lied. It would be foolish to assume that the UN found them all if they found some.

Hillary Clinton said it best in her speech FOR war. After 9/11 HILLARY CLINTON said she would rather err on the side of caution than take the chance that Saddam still had WMD or even nuclear weapons, and used them.

That was Hillary adopting her own husband's position. Bush adopted Clinton's position.

After 9/11, the risks of underreacting were considered worse than the risk of overreacting.

Congress and the White House took a calculated risk. It was the right decision.




So if you're going to rant and rave about lies, Clinton is your liar.

But if you're going to assert that there really were WMD, then nobody lied.

You can't have it both ways.

[sndkzyaa]

The US should pay for the damage they incurred in Iraq,
Posted by lambor59 at 12:09 PM : Feb 25, 2009

Just the opposite - the NEW government of Iraq should repay OUR cost of putting THEM in power.

We helped THEM get rid of the tyrant Saddam. They hanged the guy.

They have plenty of oil money. They should be paying us.

[sndkzyaa]

5000 americans dead

four trillion dollar in debt for this idiots war

we should never have been there in the first place
Posted by pythoncharly at 9:12 AM : Feb 25, 2009

Yes, if only Clinton hadn't spent 8 years lying that Saddam had WMD. No WMD were ever found in Iraq after 1991.

Clinton's WMD lie was adopted by Hillary, John Kerry, and the majority of Congress. They voted to authorize President Bush to go to war against Iraq. Bush also adopted Clitnon's WMD lie.

Then we found out it was a lie.

Thousands died from Clinton's WMD lie.

Clinton should be tried for crimes against humanity.

[lambor59]

If I never see another Dem or Repub in the White House again, I'll die happy!
Posted by Questionews

me too.

[Questionews]

19 months??
That's not what he said during the campaign.
He also flipped on his promise to get rid of warrantless wiretaps. He now keeping in the form it was when Bush instituted it. When Bush started consolidating & & increasing the power of the White House Dems & liberals screamed bloody murder (I didn't like it either) but now that Obama has the power, Dems & liberals are just fine with it. You can bet he won't reverse any of Bush's power grab shenanigans. Apparently some don't mind a power grab as long as they in the power grabber's back pocket.
If I never see another Dem or Repub in the White House again, I'll die happy!

[bigwhtpony]

BFD! If Bush was still president, he'd probably have been out quicker than that. More Oafama B$.

[gunnerv1]

pythoncharly: Better than being a NeoNazi like you and the rest of the DimocRats.

[lambor59]

The US should pay for the damage they incurred in Iraq,

[briannorwood]

"Obama, you're a brilliant man....why don't you just give them a date and time we'll leave so they'll back off until then and wait for us to withdrawl. " -- dongo3

---

Hey dude, we settled that argument when we elected Obama in November. Take a seat.

[gce651]

Noooooo! We need perpetual warfare for our economy to flourish.
Where will the military-industrial complex make its money? Where will Boeing and Lockheed-Martin and Halliburton and Dyncorp and Blackwater and TripleCanopy and all the others make thier money if not on the backs and lives of Americans?

The American war economy needs war!!!

FEED THE BEAST!

[sockpuppet4]

Once out of that desert we in America save 10 billion per month. Look at the numbers. Happy days are here again. Let them buy their own peanut butter packets.

[gunnerv1]

bthomascope: There are no Islamist that are not suicide bombers and they should all go home riddled with M16.M4 M14,M240 or M99 Fire.

[foxmulder33]

It's well past time for the Iraqi army to start defending their new Democracy. If they can't do it now, they never will. The pullout should have started a long time ago.

In spite of the turmoil we caused, we've layed down the foundation for their country to flourish under the correct leadership. There's no looking back at this point. Just move forward.

Thank you CBS for allowing people to express their views on your posted articles. If only the commentors understand and followed the rules of egagement.

[Questionews]

I'm giving the updated CBS blog board a C-.

Couldn't retain my old name & had to change passwords to get on.
And the comment text appears easier to read but the names in bold are blurry & hard to read.

Not a real smooth transition there CBS.

[CobbT]

Here I thought we had a new President that was going to keep his campaign promises, I should have known better, This Iraq withdrawal broken promise is just the begining and am sure there will be more to come and a lot of them will be overlooked because they don't want to see the truth. I told everyone during the campaign that there was no way he could keep all those promises, they all promise you the moon until they get in office and then, "too bad", I am in now and will do what I want to do no matter what i promised.
Thank You

[njaganath]

It is better to withdraw the troops immediately and save the taxpayers money. ALQUEIDA is bound to move in sooner or later, as they are now doing in Afganistan. Iraq under Saddam was stable, no doubt that he was a tyrant. At least there was no Alqueida then. America's interference has upset the delicate balance. High time the US concentrated on its own internal problems, and let the other countries fight their own battles.
Cannot afford to police the world.

[gunnerv1]

Any bets as to how long it will take before Iran takes over? I give it less than 3 months.

[mcvet-1]

mcvet-1 - No genius, It may be 3 months now but it will be at least 2 years and if you would get your head out of your a** you'd see that. And the Billions is a joke, wasted money. We're gonna give Gaza 900 million.Why don't we keep that here where it's needed? This will be the same old crap. I know he's trying but that doesn't mean it will work. And please don't give me the Bush scenerio, you wanna blame someone for tjis mess then blame Clinton and his croneys.
Posted by guyfrompa50 at 4:27 AM : Feb 25, 2009

Why in the world would be blame Clinton? HE to took over a debt and deficit... left a Balanced Budget and Surplus and that's just a fact. You do KNOW we had an election don't you? We debated for two years ALL these issues... should we stay with Trickle Down or Change Course? Should we Stay the Course in Iraq or get out? You folks preferred to stay the course and you made your case for keeping Trickle Down. It wasn't just rejected! It was rejected BIG TIME!! Now the PEOPLE have spoken, they want a change in Course and THEY wanted OBAMA as their President. Isn't it time you TRIED to put the Nation ahead of your Party?? You LOST, get over it and move on!!

[mcvet-1]

Another U.S. soldier on active duty in Iraq is joining a challenge to President Obama's eligibility to be commander-in-chief, citing WND's report on 1st Lt. Scott Easterling, who has agreed to be a plaintiff in a lawsuit over the issue, as his inspiration.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89941
Posted by singinrick at 4:16 AM : Feb 25, 2009

LOL You poor Fascist have got to have something to hang onto don't you? LOL I live in Illinois though and I'm telling you it's just going to be yet another crushing defeat for you swastika huggers! NOT ONE official at any level, No one in authority in ANY State... NO Court in either State or the US Supreme Court, has found ANY claim to be valid! NOT ONE!! The Birth Certificate posted on line for everyone to see IS from the State of Hawaii and NO OFFICIAL, No Authority and No Professional in that State or any other State has said it is NOT the real thing! So you fascist go right on chasing that nightmare... the rest of us have a nation to rebuild! Sieg Heil and Amen!!

[mcvet-1]

What happened to being out in 16 months? Here we go..
Posted by guyfrompa50 at 4:05 AM : Feb 25, 2009

Is there ANYTHING Our President says or does that you can agree with? Say a kind word about? Assuming the account is right, he is moving it up THREE MONTHS!! How long have we been there now? How many BILLIONS have we wasted and YOU are attacking him because of 3 MONTHS? The FACT is that IF we had this very Intelligent Young President, we aren't there to BEGIN WITH! I just wish you losers could TRY, just TRY to be an American for just a few hours! It isn't like THIS President was handed a Nation at Peace, with a Balanced Budget AND a Surplus!! Sieg Heil Rush