Waiting for the Pres. elect to respond to his Bushy Pentagon's Iraq plan - keeps troops there longer

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Pentagon Briefs Obama Transition Team on Iraq Pullout

VOA News
19 December 2008

The U.S. Defense Department says top military officials have briefed President-elect Barack Obama's national security team on plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Iraq next year.

Mr. Obama has said he wants U.S. forces to leave Iraq within 16 months. Military officials did not say whether the Pentagon's plans match Mr. Obama's.

In a television interview on PBS this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said thousands of U.S. forces could remain in Iraq after 2011 - the withdrawal date mandated by a recently approved security agreement with Iraq. Gates said the troops would serve in a "very different role" than in the last five years.


http://voanews.com/english/2008-12-19-voa19.cfm


related:

US general drafts troop withdrawal plan for Iraq
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hcWJu9bbzrJZ7uNHjvMn0BuTGqHQD9558E1O0


Troops to Stay Longer in Iraq as Support, Gen. Ray Odierno Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/world/middleeast/14gates.html?pagewanted=print