Adm. Mullen: We're Developing Plans For Iraq Withdrawal

[babylonsister]

AP Interview: US military can meet Obama demands

AP Interview: Mullen says US military can make changes Obama wants in Iraq, Afghanistan

ANNE GEARAN and LOLITA C. BALDOR
AP News

Nov 18, 2008 16:45 EST


The top U.S. military officer said Tuesday the Pentagon is developing plans to get troops quickly out of Iraq and into Afghanistan to battle a more confident and successful Taliban.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press in an interview that the military can make the changes President-elect Barack Obama wants in both wars.

"I've been listening to the campaign, and I understand," Mullen said. "And he has certainly reinforced that since the election, so from a planning standpoint, we are looking at that as well."

Mullen, once a critic of Obama's plan to pull combat forces from Iraq in 16 months, said the Pentagon has already identified and practiced travel routes out of Iraq along exit routes through Turkey and Jordan.

more...

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/11/ap_interview_us_military_can_m.php

[goforit]

1. Well well well......Obama is not even Prez and plans have been made.

Please get Al Qaeda.......So that Bushco can have fewer tentacles wraped around the world.

[babylonsister]

2. I'm thinking impressive, too. nt

[Ilsa]

3. So, Bush has been blocking this change. Figures. Glad the

military is on board with the changes coming. This is HUGH! Series!

[babylonsister]

4. It's not small potatoes; this is what I've been waiting for. It's a great start. nt

[Ilsa]

5. I can imagine the quiet chatter among the ranks in the Army.

I know they don't want to run away from a fight in Iraq, but I also figure they are sick to death of that place, the multiple deployments, and the problems that being there is causing them and their families. I wonder what the election numbers looked like for the military this time around.

Afghanistan will not be a picnic for them either. But there is serious work to be done there. I just hope we can get something done there to make the area less of a problem. I have some serious doubts, though.

[babylonsister]

6. Election Data: Military Communities Shifted Democratic in 2008

I saw this a few days ago, but the graphs threw me off from posting it.

Election Data: Military Communities Shifted Democratic in 2008
by: Brandon Friedman
Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 03:02:18 AM EST


For the past week, people have been coming to me asking if I had any data on the 2008 military vote. The questions were typical: Did the myth of overwhelming military support for Republicans bear out? Did Obama change that? Just who, exactly, do military communities support? And to what extent?

Unfortunately, I hadn't really come up with much until today. But now, using general election data provided by the New York Times, I was able to determine that the military communities most affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan shifted significantly toward Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008 when compared to the numbers from 2004.

Here's how I did it: The New York Times put together a set of graphics that showed every county in the United States. Each county was color-coded to reveal the shift in that county's vote--whether it went more Republican or more Democratic--from 2004 to 2008. They were done according to percentage changes, and shades of red symbolized movement toward McCain and the Republicans, while shades of blue represented a shift toward Obama and the Democrats.

more...

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2189

[Zhade]

8. Gosh, just think how the Iraqis and Afghanis feel.

NT!

[Zhade]

7. We'll see.

I'm not believing anything until it happens.

We've been led by the nose before. Remember the 2006 midterms?