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FACT CHECK: Obama's changing Iraq timetable
By CALVIN WOODWARD – Feb 27, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — While
President Barack Obama's determination to get the
U.S. out of Iraq has been a constant theme, his timetable
has been a moving target.
In remarks Friday at the Camp
LeJeune, N.C., Marine base, Obama promised to end
the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by Aug. 31 of next
year, and to remove all troops by the end of 2011.
The plan completes an evolution in his thinking that
parallels his political odyssey from last year's primaries,
to the general election, to the White House.
In a debate with a crowded
Democratic primary field in July 2007, Obama said
the United States should "have our combat troops
out by March 31st of next year," or March of
2008.
That date slipped as the primary
season wore on. By October 2007, Obama's formulation
had changed: "I will remove one or two brigades
a month, and get all of our combat troops out of Iraq
within 16 months" of taking office, he said then.
By January 2008, as the primary
field narrowed and his leading opponent became Sen.
Hillary Clinton, Obama was saying in a debate that
"I have put forward a plan that will get our
troops out by the end of 2009," or 11 months
after being sworn in.
Once he had clinched the nomination
and faced Republican John McCain in the general election
campaign, Obama settled back on the 16-month timetable
and stuck with it until he was elected in November.
During the campaign, when reporters
noted that generals opposed such an abrupt pullout,
Obama said he'd listen to them but "it would
be my job as commander in chief to set the mission."
Now president and in face-to-face
meetings with some of those generals, Obama has adjusted
his timetable yet again — to 19 months.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved.
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