Political pundits are making it a 'big deal' that President Obama will be changing his, get out of Iraq, date by 3 months. They are also acting outraged by Obama's plan to leave a residual force behind in Iraq.
I think maybe it's time to remind them of what Obama actually said during his campaign. The following is from Obama/Biden's website during the campaign:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began.
Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.
I really don't see where talk show hosts get off thinking Obama is backing away from his promises. Not having all the facts before you (just being a presidential candidate), I think Obama did a pretty darn good job of getting both the date and the residual force left behind plans --on target.
I would also like to remind those critiques that there are currently over 170,000 troops in Iraq. Leaving behind 50,000 makes that more than a 2/3rd cut in forces there.
While nobody wants troops there at all, this has got to make our military folks and their families 'very pleased'. They not only get to keep the area secure (protecting what they went and died their for), they will finally have more time to spend with their families.