Today Obama says that his plan for troop withdrawal will depend on the opinion of the commanders on the ground. He will get this opinion after he has the chance to visit them and talk to them.
“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,” he said, according to CBS News. “I have been consistent, throughout this process, that I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.”
When he goes to Iraq? When might that be? After he is President? He would sit down with mad men with no pre-conditions, but now it seems as though there are pre-conditions on his pull out plan.
I especially like the line where he says “and will continue to refine my policies”, which means ‘I’ll give you my message of the day depending on how the political winds are blowing’
Funny, that’s not what he says on his web site. Here is a quote from his web site (emphasis mine). He says he will Immediately begin to remove our troops. This doesn’t sound like he’s waiting for anyone’s input. His time table also seems firm, all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months.
Bringing Our Troops Home
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. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
Tomorrow we’ll probably hear about the “inartful” wording that he used.
The candidate of change, changing his message yet again.
