President Obama will officially announce to day the withdrawl of American troops from Iraq by August 2010. This is a little bit longer than his campaign pledge, but that’s fine by me. Anything that gets our troops out of Iraq alive and safe is a plan that I support.
Speaking on the Senate floor on Friday before the president’s speech, Mr. McCain credited the opportunity to pull troops out to the surge of troops that President George W. Bush ordered two years ago with Mr. McCain’s support and he cautioned that Iraq remains fragile so Mr. Obama should stay flexible and listen to military commanders.
“With these factors in mind, I believe the president’s withdrawal plan is a reasonable one,” Mr. McCain said. “Given the gains in Iraq and the requirements to send additional troops to Afghanistan, together with the significant number of troops that will remain in Iraq and the president’s willingness to reassess based on conditions on the ground, I am cautiously optimistic that the plan as laid out by the president can lead to success.”
via Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010 – NYTimes.com.
From President Obama’s speech:
But let there be no doubt: Iraq is not yet secure, and there will be difficult days ahead. Violence will continue to be a part of life in Iraq. Too many fundamental political questions about Iraq’s future remain unresolved. Too many Iraqis are still displaced or destitute. Declining oil revenues will put an added strain on a government that has had difficulty delivering basic services. Not all of Iraq’s neighbors are contributing to its security. Some are working at times to undermine it. And even as Iraq’s government is on a surer footing, it is not yet a full partner – politically and economically – in the region, or with the international community.
I believe that Obama’s engagement with Republicans on this issue and their cautious support is also a victory of a sort, and I am hopeful that he continues to engage with them even as we move the country in a more leftward direction.
But ultimately it comes down to the idea that people should be allowed to govern themselves, and the Iraqi people, while having a very long difficult road ahead of them, are fully capable of doing that.
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