Obama's Plan to End the Iraq War

There seems to be some lingering confusion over Senator Barack Obama's plan to end the Iraw War, so without further ado, and in an effort to promote accuracy when debating these topics on Partybuilder, here is the official plan:

"A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal:"

I. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war.

The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 - more than 7 years after the war began.

II. A residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel.

Obama will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.

On a basic level, the difference between John McCain & George Bush's plans for Iraq, compared to Barack Obama's is this: Bush & McCain have a plan for STAYING in Iraq, and Obama has a plan for LEAVING.

Only one of these people will be giving a new mission to our military; that of ending this war. Without a new mission, there will be NO end in sight.

I can see how people want more details - especially people who are uncertain about or critical of Obama in general - however, we must remember this is a general election, and it would be political suicide to commit to more details at this time.

We have an election to win, and subtlety and nuance must sometimes be left for a later day. We must come together around the general terms of Obama's plan and in that sense it is as different from McCain's as night is from day.