Remember when Obama said he would leave troops in Iraq and increase them in Afghan?

[Didereaux]

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Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008Sunday, Oct 7, 2007
Posted on Sun, Oct. 07, 2007
Obama in S.C.; toughens security stance
TAYLOR BRIGHT
Obama said he would withdraw troops from Iraq "tomorrow" if he could, leaving an American Embassy and a strike force, while increasing troops in Afghanistan by two brigades.

"I think we can do an orderly phased withdrawal of one to two brigades a month. At that pace, we would have our combat troops out in about 16 months, and what I would maintain is a very limited presence to protect our embassies, to protect our civilian personnel ... and to have a strike force to go after al-Qaida in Iraq or to engage in other counterterrorist activities."

There are currently some 160,000 troops in Iraq and about 25,000 troops in Afghanistan. Obama said he would not keep American troops in Iraq at the levels they are in South Korea and Germany.

During his speech, he also declared the surge has failed in Iraq and he would close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba where enemy combatants are being held.

But, Obama said, he would not use the Department of Justice to investigate the administration if elected. "I don't want to waste time as president spending all our time looking backwards. I want to look forward," Obama said, adding the caveat that if evidence of criminal activity arose, he would expect it to be pursued by the Justice Department.


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[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Not fast enought, to my mind, but that's the right idea.

Reduce the Iraq contingent to a couple thousand in a rapid reaction force. Double the troops in Afghanistan where the people who actually attacked us are getting stronger on a daily basis.

What's your problem with that?