14.1: Withdrawal
A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal Other Information:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. 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 -- which would remove all of them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 -- more than 7 years after the war
began. Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism
missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They 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.
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