Barack Obama explains his plan to withdraw from Iraq:
Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end….We will retain a transitional force to carry out three distinct functions: training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq. Initially, this force will likely be made up of 35-50,000 U.S. troops.
Through this period of transition, we will carry out further redeployments. And under the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government, I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. We will complete this transition to Iraqi responsibility, and we will bring our troops home with the honor that they have earned.
There are some caveats, and Spencer Ackerman explains the details here. But the bottom line is simple: all combat troops will be out within 18 months, and all troops will be out within 34 months. That’s probably not as quickly as I’d like to see it done, but it’s probably about as quickly as it was ever likely to happen given the inherent instability of the political situation. Keep your fingers crossed.
