Democrats Wary Of President's Iraq Plan

Keeping his own party in line, however, may prove more difficult for Mr. Obama. Though most Democrats praised the president for beginning to bring troops back home, many expressed disappointment that between 35,000-50,000 soldiers would remain after next August to advise the Iraqi army and provide intelligence support.

Mr. Obama made his opposition to the war a centerpiece of his campaign, and promised a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

Here's a roundup of some prominent Democratic reactions to Mr. Obama's plan:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.) on Wednesday told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow: "I don't know what the justification is for 50,000, a presence of 50,000 troops in Iraq. ... I do think that there's a need for some. I don't know that all of them have to be in [the] country."

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, (D- Calif.), co-founder of the Out of Iraq House Caucus, said in a statement reported by CNN: "I am deeply troubled by the suggestion that a force of 50,000 troops could remain in Iraq beyond this time frame. Call such a troop level what you will, but such a large number can only be viewed by the Iraqi public as an enduring occupation force. This is unacceptable."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) released the following statement: "You cannot leave combat troops in a foreign country to conduct combat operations and call it the end of the war. You can't be in and out at the same time. America must determine at some point to end the occupation, close the bases and bring the troops home. We must bring a conclusion to this sorry chapter in American history where war was waged under false pretense against an innocent people. Taking troops out of Iraq should not mean more troops available for deployment in other operations. "

Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.) said Thursday: "That's a little higher number than I expected."

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) released the following statement: "President Obama's plan establishes a reasonable timetable for redeployment of most of our forces from Iraq by August 2010 as promised by President Obama during his campaign. However, I had expected that the size of the residual force would have been lower than 35-50,000 troops given the limited missions remaining after the brigade combat teams are removed."

And Sen. Russ Feingold (D- Wis.) released the following statement: "After years of failed Iraq policies, I am pleased by reports that President Obama plans to significantly reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by August 2010. Our presence in Iraq has cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives, overburdened our military, fueled anti-Americanism and distracted us from the global threat posed by al Qaeda. I am concerned, however, by reports that tens of thousands of U.S. troops may remain in Iraq beyond August 2010. I question whether such a large force is needed to combat any al Qaeda affiliates in Iraq or whether it will contribute to stability in the region."