In preparation for Obama taking office on the 20th, the pentagon is putting together a military withdrawal proposal to have all troops out of Iraq within 16 months. If you recall, Obama has stated that he plans to have the troops out within a 16 month time period. I am grateful that the withdrawal will take over a year because I believe that in that manner there is better hope of the region being stabilized. If we were to pull out in a matter of a few months, there would certainly be chaos in the region.
Do you think that this withdrawal is too soon? What needs to happen during this withdrawal to make the transition a smooth and positive endeavor? Will the fledgling government of Iraq be able to stand on its own feet? What if the government is incapable, are we to become involved again?
Obama has not asked the Pentagon to prepare this presentation, rather our military leaders have taken it on themselves to arrange a set of pullout options for Obama to consider. As stated by Geoff Morrell, the press secretary for the pentagon, “no option will be presented without relaying the risk that is taken on in conjunction with that option.” I think that it is a brilliant idea to present various scenarios to Obama since our new president will be swamped as it is. He is certainly going to have to delegate any and everything that he possibly can to take care of the plethora of issues that require his immediate attention.
