Common Ground for Gates and Obama - Keeping 30,000 to 70,000 troops in Iraq until 2011?

[bigtree]

. . . and beyond?


from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/washington/27gates.html?ref=politics&pagewanted=print

November 26, 2008

>>>WHILE Mr. Obama campaigned on a promise to withdraw all American combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months, or by May 2010, Mr. Gates has spent his time at the Pentagon arguing a Bush administration position that has opposed setting strict timetables for withdrawal.

“I would urge our nation’s leaders to implement strategies that, while reducing our presence in Iraq steadily, are cautious and flexible and take into account the advice of our senior commanders and military leaders,” Mr. Gates told Congress in September. “I would also urge our leaders to keep in mind that we should expect to be involved in Iraq for years to come, though in changing and increasingly limited ways.”

And while Mr. Obama’s most heartfelt supporters in the antiwar movement may have heard “end the war” as a promise to end the American troop presence in Iraq in 16 months, the president-elect has spoken only of a timeline for withdrawing combat troops, not all American forces.

To reach agreement on the text of a long-term status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqis now before the parliament in Baghdad, the Bush administration notably dropped its opposition to formal timelines. American combat forces must pull back from cities and villages to major bases by June 30, 2009, and all forces must be out by the last day of 2011.

In contrast, Mr. Obama wants all combat forces out about a year and a half earlier than the deadline of Dec. 31, 2011. Aides to the president-elect say he does not oppose the current draft of the status-of-forces agreement, as it puts both Iraq and the United States formally on a glide path to removing American troops.

Some Army planners predict that 30,000 to 50,000 — and as many as 70,000 — American troops will remain in support and training missions well into late 2011, and beyond, should the Iraqis invite them.


read: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/washington/27gates.html?ref=politics&pagewanted=print


related:

Iraq’s Status of Forces Agreement Narrowly Passed - November 27, 2008
http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/27/iraqs-status-of-forces-agreement-narrowly-passed/

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[Selatius]

2. I figured if the Status of Forces Agreement failed, the US would be forced to pull out immediately.

That was because the UN mandate expires at the end of this year. The US would then have no legal cover to keep troops in Iraq without an agreement with the Iraqi government.