The BarackStar!'s credibility is completely and totally staked to ending the war ASAP. he simply
won't survive it if he does a pelosi on this one.
Democratic president may reassess Iraq promises
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Democrats running for U.S. president have promised to pull troops from Iraq, but some analysts and defense officials question whether either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would fulfill that pledge if elected.
Certainly, the U.S. military will comply with any policy adopted by the next commander-in-chief, including a full-scale withdrawal from Iraq, officers say.
But some officials and policy analysts say it is difficult to see Obama or Clinton, if elected, ordering a swift pull-out once presented with the complexity of the security and political situation in Iraq and the responsibility for maintaining relationships in the region.
Obama, an Illinois senator who leads in the number of delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, has repeatedly promised not just to withdraw but to have all troops out of Iraq within 16 months.
To do that, the Pentagon would have to pull one to two brigades -- roughly 3,500 to 7,000 troops -- out each month.
That could be done, but military officers warn that if the president expects an orderly withdrawal, the pace must be dictated by security conditions that allow the military to get its soldiers and equipment out safely. That could take years.
New York Sen. Clinton has been less specific, promising only that troop cuts could start within 60 days of taking office and offering no deadline for full withdrawal.
That could give her room to make decisions based on current conditions in Iraq, meaning the pursuit of a policy that might fall in line with President George W. Bush's current plan of pulling troops out as warranted by security gains.
"She's been a little more careful," said Michael O'Hanlon, national security policy expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "She still obviously wants out and she obviously isn't happy with the war and she wants to make a distinction with Bush but I see a little more flexibility on her account."
"Obama's the one who's in more trouble on this," he said.
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oh, you mean The BarackStar! may be feeding the dems a line of bunk just so he can get the nomination? what about his great judgment because he was "right on the war" back when he gave an insignificant speech to a anti-war group when he was an utterly irrelevant state legislator?
do you mean that another liberal politician is going to dash the DUmmies hopes by promising to end the war by lunchtime of the day they are sworn in, only to fail in spectacular fashion, a al bella pelosi and stretch reid?
