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White House Weighing 23-Month Iraq Withdrawal Plan
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| Contributor | kal |
| Last Edited | kal Feb 07, 2009 04:07am |
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| Category | General |
| Media | TV News - FOX News |
| News Date | Saturday, February 7, 2009 10:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Obama administration is weighing three different military options for withdrawing troops from Iraq -- including the possibility of breaking Obama's campaign pledge of a pullout within 16 months -- a senior U.S. official confirmed to FOX News.
One of the options is along the lines of Obama's campaign pledge of 16 months, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have drawn up what that would entail.
The second option envisions about 23 months for combat forces to leave, an option that many of the military leaders favor because it would not require leaving so much equipment behind. It also could be done in a more orderly manner, and bases could be cleaned up and closed properly, the U.S. official told FOX News.
An earlier report by the Associated Press, citing two officials, said a third, in-between option of 19 months is also being weighed. One of the officials told the Associated Press that the main focus appears to be on the 16-month and 23-month options; 23 months would run to the end of 2010.
Under either timeline, the U.S. would hope to leave behind a number of brigades that would be redesigned and reconfigured as multipurpose units to provide training and advising for Iraqi security forces, one official told the Associated Press. These brigades would be considered noncombat outfits and their presence would have to be agreed in advance by the Iraqi government, which under a deal signed late last year insisted that all U.S. forces -- not just combat brigades -- be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
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