Iraq exit strategy

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McCain Jab on War Most 'Scurrilous' in Memory: Klein

Time 's Klein can't believe he said Obama would rather lose war than election

(Newser) - John McCain’s latest jab at Barack Obama—“It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign”–stuns Joe Klein, who writes in Time that the Republican’s Iraq claim is the most “scurrilous statement by a major...

Obama Appears Cocky, Presidential
 Obama Appears
 Cocky, Presidential 
Opinion

Obama Appears Cocky, Presidential

The media fawns, McCain glowers, but Obama gets raves: Dowd

(Newser) - The better Barack Obama’s foreign excursion goes, the more nervous Republicans get,  Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times. Images of John McCain happily sharing a golf cart with Bush 41 don’t contrast well with images of Obama happily sharing a helicopter with David Petraeus. But...

Best Iraq Policy Would Mix Mac, Obama Plans
Best Iraq Policy Would Mix Mac, Obama Plans
Opinion

Best Iraq Policy Would Mix Mac, Obama Plans

Friedman: Timetable is a political must, but with a little wiggle room

(Newser) - John McCain was right about the surge, so it’s natural he’s eager to talk about it. But thanks to that very success, Barack Obama finds himself, by luck or cunning, positioned perfectly, Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times. As security improves, Iraqis want Americans to leave....

In Jordan, Obama Urges Iraq-to-Afghanistan Shift

With security improved, US must focus on fighting terror, Dem says

(Newser) - Barack Obama said today that, with improved security in Iraq, the US should turn its attention to Afghanistan. “There is security progress, but now we need a political solution” in Iraq, Obama said in Amman, Jordan—in his first news conference abroad, the AP reports. Afghanistan, the “central...

Maliki Uses US Politics to Gain Iraqi Leverage
Maliki Uses US Politics to Gain Iraqi Leverage
ANALYSIS

Maliki Uses US Politics to Gain Iraqi Leverage

'Let's squeeze them,' the PM is said to have proposed

(Newser) - The Iraqi PM’s endorsement of Barack Obama’s withdrawal timetable Saturday (walked back somewhat under pressure) was a calculated maneuver by a man who has figured out how to play US politics for his country's gain, Robert Reid writes for the AP. Nouri al-Maliki started using it as leverage...

Obama, Maliki Want US Troops Out of Iraq by 2010

Democrat mum on details of meeting with Iraqi leaders, who aren't as reticent

(Newser) - Barack Obama spent nearly an hour today meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Washington Post reports, before meeting with President Jalal Talabani. Though the Democrat gave few details—“We had a very constructive discussion,” was all Obama would say—an Iraqi official said the government shares...

Maliki Backs Obama Iraq Plan
 Maliki Backs Obama Iraq Plan 

Maliki Backs Obama Iraq Plan

Iraq PM says a 16-month schedule to withdraw sounds about right

(Newser) - While shying away from a presidential endorsement, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed support for Barack Obama’s 16-month timeline for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, Der Spiegel reports. He expressed frustration at his country’s lack of control over US forces and said they should leave "as...

US, Iraq Agree to Set 'Time Horizon' for Troop Cuts

Security deal may include 'aspirational goals' for withdrawal

(Newser) - George Bush and Nouri al-Maliki have agreed that a security pact should include a general, non-binding “time horizon” for troop withdrawals from Iraq, the White House said today. The leaders agreed to lay down “aspirational goals” based on improving ground conditions, Reuters reports, striking a compromise between the...

Iraqi Visits: Much Ado but Few Epiphanies
Iraqi Visits: Much Ado
but Few Epiphanies
analysis

Iraqi Visits: Much Ado but Few Epiphanies

Obama's pledged trip to Baghdad likely won't change his mind

(Newser) - Lawmakers have been flocking to Iraq to assess the situation on the ground, as Barack Obama is about to do, but the visits rarely result in any revelations for them, writes Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post. The itineraries are fairly routine by now—meet the generals, the troops, and...

McCain Camp Likens Obama —to Bush?

Republicans say his stubbornness on Iraq reminiscent of president

(Newser) - The McCain camp borrowed a page from its rivals today with a new tack on Barack Obama: He looks a whole lot like George W. Bush. McCain's national security adviser took Obama to task for the rigidity of his Iraq strategy, the Huffington Post reports. "I think the American...

'Foolish Consistency' Mars Obama Iraq Plan

He must be more flexible on his withdrawal strategy

(Newser) - The editors of the Washington Post are rankled that Barack Obama has the same position on exiting Iraq now—“with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war began”—as he did a year ago, “at the war’s peak.” His "iron timetable" of a...

Voters Split on Candidates' Iraq Stances: Poll

Poll score: Obama 50%, McCain 49%

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain have battled each other to a draw when it comes to Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Americans are split more or less down the middle on Iraq policy, with 50% supporting Obama’s withdrawal timetable and 49% backing McCain’s open-ended...

Obama: Swift End to Iraq War Will Strengthen Security

Candidate makes position crystal clear

(Newser) - Barack Obama will promise a swift end to the Iraq war in a major speech today, arguing that the ongoing conflict “distracts us from every threat that we face,” according to excerpts obtained by Politico. As president, Obama would take the fight to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan....

Obama Stands By Plan for 16-Month Drawdown in Iraq

Candidate outlines 16-month withdrawal; blasts Bush, McCain

(Newser) - Calling Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's demand for a timetable for US withdrawal an "enormous opportunity," Barack Obama lays out his plan for ending the war in Iraq in a New York Times op-ed piece. The presumptive Democratic nominee reiterates his support for a careful withdrawal over 16...

Obama: Relax, I'm Not Running to the Center

Everyone's going to disagree with him sometimes, Dem says

(Newser) - Calling himself "no doubt progressive," Barack Obama today addressed accusations he has shifted to the center, the New York Times reports. “The people who say this apparently haven’t been listening to me,” he said, going on to cite his support for universal health care and...

Iraq Minister Demands Exit Timetable

Foreign minister Rubaie won't accept a US security deal without one

(Newser) - Iraq won’t accept any security deal that doesn’t include strict guidelines for a US withdrawal, National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie said today. The US waved off similar statements from Nouri al-Maliki yesterday, saying they didn’t believe the Iraqi PM really wanted a timetable, but Rubaie’s comments...

Obama: I Must 'Earn the Trust' of US Military

Questions provisions for troops, use of civilian contractors

(Newser) - Because he hasn't served in the military, Barack Obama says, “I have to earn the trust of men and women in uniform.” In a wide-ranging interview with Military Times, the presumptive Democratic nominee vowed to raise pay and improve health care for service members, promised he would not...

Timetable Needed to End 'Foreign Presence' in Iraq: PM

'Specific time' for withdrawal must be part of new security deal, Maliki says

(Newser) - Iraq is ready to be rid of US troops, its prime minister said today, and he wants a timetable. “We are looking at the necessity of terminating the foreign presence on Iraqi lands and restoring full sovereignty,” Nouri al-Maliki told Arab diplomats, saying the “memorandum of understanding”...

Obama Might 'Refine' 16-Month Iraq Timeline

He'll reevaluate policy after meeting with commanders in Iraq

(Newser) - Barack Obama today appeared to soften his oft-stated pledge that he would pull troops out of Iraq in 16 months, the New York Times reports. Obama, while inisting that his policies had not changed, said he would consider the opinions of military commanders as he continues to “refine his...

Obama Needs to Shift Iraq Strategy
 Obama Needs
 to Shift Iraq Strategy 
ANALYSIS

Obama Needs to Shift Iraq Strategy

Surge has made total withdrawal impractical; Dem's advisers have plan

(Newser) - “There will be no such thing as victory in Iraq,” George Packer writes in the New Yorker, “but the next President, if he remains nimble, may be able to keep the damage under control.” Packer argues that the dramatic improvement since the surge poses a problem...

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