Obama acknowledges Petraeus argued in private against withdrawal timeline

[DeepModem Mom]

TIME: Obama Survives Iraq, Looks Ahead
By KAREN TUMULTY / AMMAN
Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2008


Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama listens to opening remarks at a press gathering in Amman, Jordan (Jim Young/Reuters)

In his first news conference following his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama acknowledged that General David Petraeus had argued in their private meeting against Obama's 16-month timeline for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. But Obama said that if elected, he would persist with that plan so that additional troops could be sent to Afghanistan, which he again called "the central front in the war against terrorism."

"As commander on the ground, not surprisingly, (Petraeus) wants to retain as much flexibility as possible in terms of accomplishing their goal," Obama said in a 52-min. question-and-answer session atop a mountain overlooking the Jordanian capital. "What I emphasized to him was that if I were in his shoes, I'd probably feel the same way. But my job as a candidate for President and a potential Commander in Chief extends beyond Iraq." Later in the press conference, Obama added, "The notion is that either I do exactly what my military commanders (say) or I'm ignoring their advice. No, I'm factoring in their advice, but placing it in the broader strategic framework that's required."

Obama gave no indication that what he had seen firsthand in the two hot spots had changed his thinking, only that it had reinforced it. He did applaud the tentative steps that have been made in quelling the violence in Iraq and in bringing political stability to the country. But he stressed that "the U.S. military can't be there forever," and noted that Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, have themselves become more vocal in calling for a definite timetable for U.S. withdrawal. "The message we heard from Iraq's leaders is that they're ready to do more and they want to take more responsibility for their country," Obama said. "I believe that the best way to support Iraqi sovereignty and encourage the Iraqis to stand up is through the responsible redeployment of our combat brigades."

The news conference marked the start of a second phase of Obama's weeklong trip to the Middle East and Europe. His visit to Iraq and Afghanistan was as part of a congressional delegation that included Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has been one of his party's leading critics of the Iraq war. The two Senators flanked him at the news conference.

Beginning with his stop in Amman, the remainder of the trip is being orchestrated by Obama's presidential campaign....

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1825525,00.html?xid=site-cnn-partner