Iraq Pull Out Plan

I’m not happy with it, but at least it sets a solid date for withdraw from Iraq. By August 31 of next year the force will have dropped from 138000 to 50000, and by 2011 the remaining troops will leave.

How much of a difference would it make if we pulled them all out right now? What magical things are going to happen in the next two years that makes 2011 a better year for ending this fiasco than 2009?

I don’t like the way it was announced. The plan was announced on a Friday. Studies show that people pay less attention to the news on Friday, because they are preparing for the weekend. It was also announced in front of a military audience. There isn’t much chance of having an angry protester asking why it isn’t ending this month at a venue of this nature. Soldiers are not allowed to criticize the president, it’s a military regulation. The remaining 50,000 troops are still going to be carrying out counter insurgency operations, so why say that combat missions are going to end Aug. 31 2010? Changing the name of a combat battalion to a “counter insurgency” battalion is just word play and it is meaningless.

This is the type of media manipulation and word games I would have expected from the former president. We were supposed to have change, but I guess it was just change, but the change seems to be nickels and dimes. I am still willing to give the new president a chance, but this was a bad move in my opinion.