From McClatchy Washington
The top U.S. military commander in Iraq isn’t buying the increasingly popular idea of a publicly stated timetable for American troop withdrawal.
Gen. David Petraeus, the Iraq commander, said in an interview with McClatchy that the situation in Iraq is too volatile to “project out, and to then try to plant a flag on, a particular date.”
With violence at its lowest levels of the war, politicians in both the United States and Iraq are getting behind the idea of a departure timetable. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was first, suggesting he would have combat troops home within 16 months of Inauguration Day. The idea got a big boost during his overseas trip, when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki indicated support for that general timeline.
Look, timelines are smart, when they are linked to conditions on the ground, when they, have concrete goals, and when they are not published to the enemy. I certainly hope that the government and the military have timelines. But, I do not need to know them. I do not necessarily trust the government, but, I do trust the military. And, I think they know what is going on better then folks who simply read the papers, and when it is best to say Aloha to Iraq.
Keep an eye on the comments section for the story: the moonbats are invading. One of them is cute, in that Patraeus should just keep his stupid military mouth shut. Typical.
Meanwhile, in Iraq
An Iraqi organization tasked with consolidating and coordinating that country’s counterterrorism effort is now capable of conducting unilateral missions, a U.S. military official said July 24.
“[The Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force’s] primary mission is to synchronize and focus all elements of Iraqi national power to defeat terrorism here in Iraq,†U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, director of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team, told online journalist and bloggers.
Progress.
