Middle East News
Obama set to unveil plan for Iraq
Feb 26, 2009, 21:36 GMT

US President Barack Obama is expected to reveal his plan for the war in Iraq during a speech on Friday that will reportedly include a timeframe for a sharp drawdown in the US presence. EPA/SHAWN THEW
Washington - US President Barack Obama is expected to reveal his plan for the war in Iraq during a speech on Friday that will reportedly include a timeframe for a sharp drawdown in the US presence.
Obama will arrive in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Friday morning for the address at the Marine Corps base. He will reportedly announce the withdrawal of all US combat forces by August 2010, or about three months later than his campaign pledge to pull them out within 16 months of taking office.
There are about 140,000 US troops in Iraq and the withdrawal is expected to reduce that number to about 50,000 soldiers who will remain as trainers and for force protection.
Obama has identified Afghanistan as the top military priority for the United States and wants to shift forces from Iraq to that country. He has already announced the deployment of 17,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan this year.
According to an agreement reached by the Bush administration with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, all US troops must leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

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Older Talkback
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Now wait just a darn minute. Where are all the protests around the country. Used to see on our street corners every Friday and Saturday night, except when it was sprinkling a little bit. Nothing like a few sprinkles to stop your just cause. Now they are gone, eerily slient. No posters calling Bush a murderer, nothing. But fighting still goes on? People are still getting killed and more troops are going to Afghanistan not less. Where are all you Obamamaniacs? This is your guy! Not coming home for almost two more years and still going to leave thousands there. Where are you Obamamaniacs? Silence..............
Another day has come! The relentless facts are unfolding:
The boogie man from North Korea did nothing to the U.S. again. No Islamic terrorists did anything to the U.S.
However, U.S. citizens murdered about 50 other U.S. citizens today and U.S. citizens killed 2,500 U.S. babies. Countless U.S. citizens funded the Taliban today by buying their opium.
The evidence is mounting. The clock is ticking. Reality is undeniable and relentless. Ask yourself: Who is the U.S. number one enemy today? Who will it be tomorrow?
Here's a score card:
Since the start of this war:
Number of people killed in the U.S. due to Iraqis: Zero.
Number of people killed in the U.S. due to U.S. citizens: At least 100,000 murders and 4,800,000 killings of U.S. babies.
Amount of money going to the Taliban from U.S. citizens (opium purchases): No reliable statistics, but it is probably in the billions of dollars.
... I would say that U.S. citizens DO have an enemy, and it is NOT the Iraq people.
Obama is 'expected to reveal his plan for the war in Iraq during a speech on Friday that will reportedly include a timeframe for a sharp drawdown in the US presence.'
He's doing what he said he would do. Taking REAL steps to end it.
That's much more than Bush (or '100 yrs' McCain) have done or promised.
And Dave ... Do you know that many people who opposed the Iraq invasion, supported the action on Afghanistan? (because to latter was justified, while the former was not) ... apparently you don't know, do you?
Since before the election, Obama has said focus needed to be applied towards finishing Afghanistan ... including an increase in troop presence to do so (the opposite of Bush neglecting Afghanistan).
He's not doing anything different from what he promised there.
People like you always want to 'muddy' the two things together ... I guess that's the best 'ditto-heads' (ditto, because you don't think for yourselves) can do with the mush you have for brains.
Do you also have a real life except your virtual world here on the net .Look around you,if you don't like what you see,open the door,walk,look for the sun somewhere and think that life is not too bad in fact :that there is a real world except your flat panek.Did you now you might even find a partner if you managed to amputate yourself from that keyboard for a while ,go uot end open yourself for new ideas.First of all sunlight and physical exercise will procure you with a better codition,that will lift your sprits ,that then will expand your ideas and neither you nor us will hae to be blasszs with your poor quality wriings which have been parotting themselves for months now .Frankly I thing most raders have gotten the zest of youe ideas for a while now .Repeating yourself too much is counterproductive .You are not at al contributing to a better world by singing the same mantra,quite the contrary .Tak a break,look at things from another perspectiv.Stop being so bloody morose.You can't change anything .....The problem with the modern commuications is that everything that happens in the world.....anywhere in the world ...is dished out on your plate ,like it or not .O, itself nothing wrong with that .Providig you don't take all the misery of the entire planet on your shoulders .Do what you can ,we all should,but please don't add to it .
First there is no such thing as the'average amrican ' that is only a convenient figure of speech .Relating to it only reduces the impact of your ideas.Try a more differentiated approach ....
... Interesting how the 'typical U.S. citizen' would rather mass kill muslim than accept commentary on their own society.
The 'typical U.S. citizen' is defined by how they vote ... the U.S. is suppose to be a democracy you know. In this instance, the 'typical U.S. citizen' voted to mass kill muslims in Iraq, in addition to commit many other atrocities such as mass kill over one million Vietnamese.
If the U.S. were a dictatorship then you might have an excuse, but the fact remains that the U.S. bills itself as a democracy so the 'typical U.S. citizen' must accept its definition defined by how it votes and the resulting actions.
The wars and economic meltdown and financial deficits are a manifestation of the 'typical U.S. citizen', a paranoid entity that lives in a dream world where money grows on trees.
... to make a public idiot out of yourself?
Your grossly incorrect ass-umptions do everything to tear your credibility apart ...( you write 'Interesting how the 'typical U.S. citizen' would rather mass kill muslim than accept commentary on their own society.' - utter nonsense)
Why are you so eager to make a mockery of YOURSELF?
Have some self-respect man (look up self-respect in the dictionary if you must)
... like I said: the 'typical U.S. citizen' simply will not accept responsibility for the way they vote.
Once ever four years they take responsibility and vote for a few minutes and that is the extent of their civic duty and responsibility. After that everything that happens is someone else's fault.
... but that won't make your grossly incorrect assumptions correct.
Though it will prove my point that you are eager to make yourself a public idiot.
I'm talking about the protestors sphincter face. Their posters ALL read Out of Iraq NOW, Bring the Tropps Home NOW! you must eat piles of dung for breakfast.
I think we need to Lancie ole boy over here so's we can kick his scrawny whimpy little leftist ass up and down some major highway. Anyone for chipping in his airfare.
lanceFeb 27th, 2009 - 22:26:29
'U.S. citizens like you need to go to the M.E. to kick someone's xxx and yyyy people over.'
More profanity from the Messiah lance. How the mighty have fallen,
Tell me, lance, do you eat with that mouth?
Yes, it is curious how the 'typical U.S. citizen' rejects words like 'shit', but accepts words like: 'kill people'.
One word ('shit') has essentially no meaning and is harmless, while the other word has a definite meaning and is very harmful.
You would never catch a president of the U.S. saying 'shit' out loud, but they definitely say: 'kill people'.
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Plan for Iraq?Feb 27th, 2009 - 00:56:14
How about bring our troops home and let the Iraq people decide their own fate? If 5 years of US involvement hasn't done it, nothing will.
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