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AP: US abandons plans to keep troops in Iraq next year


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http://twitter.com/#!/BreakingNews

Obama at 12:45 p.m. EDT will announce complete drawdown of US troops from Iraq to zero by end of 2011 - ABC's @jaketapper 6 minutes ago

More: After talking to Iraqi PM, POTUS to announce complete drawdown of US troops in Iraq by end of 2011 - @jaketapper http://abcn.ws/pe7cAy 2 minutes ago

---------- Post added October-21st-2011 at 12:27 PM ----------

http://twitter.com/#!/arwaCNN

All US troops out of iraq out by the end of 2011, as per security agreement, no deal for extension of small "training force" 5 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/JomanaCNN

BREAKING: OBAMA to announce soon- DECISION MADE ALL US TROOPS WILL BE OUT OF IRAQ by years end. 6 minutes ago
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Wait... that's not what Alex Jones told me was happening. I don't believe it.

You need to study your geography. Iraq and Iran don't share a border, so the troops will come home first before invading Iran.

---------- Post added October-21st-2011 at 01:08 PM ----------

That's true. They also prevented any kryptonite from falling into Lex Luthor's hands.

Cheney should have made more of this. I believe that the lack of a zombie apocalypse shouldn't go unnoticed.

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CNN is really pushing the angle of this being a failure by the Obama admin and a success for Iran....

They also implied that Iran controls the parliament and cabinet in Iraq.

In other news:

http://twitter.com/#!/nicolegaouette

Around 4,000 to 5,000 security contractors will be needed in Iraq after troops are gone, White House says. 22 minutes ago
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http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/21/8433344-republicans-criticize-obama-over-iraq-withdrawal

Republicans criticize Obama over Iraq withdrawal

By msnbc.com's Michael O'Brien

Mitt Romney issued a scathing rebuke Friday of President Obama's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by year's end, joining a chorus of Republicans critical of the president's decision.

Romney sharply criticized the announcement this afternoon by Obama that all troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2011, fulfilling one of Obama's main promises from the 2008 campaign, that he would end the war in Iraq.

“President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women," Romney said in a statement. "The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government."

Romney's sentiment is in tune with what Republicans have said Friday afternoon; most GOP voices have expressed concern that the withdrawal would imperil progress made after almost nine years' worth of war in Iraq.

"I feel all we have worked for, fought for, and sacrificed for is very much in jeopardy by today’s announcement. I hope I am wrong and the President is right, but I fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the most vocal proponents of the war, in a statement.

Obama's decision Friday technically follows through on an agreement struck late during President George W. Bush's administration, which set a goal of rull withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011. But Republicans have generally criticized Obama for having established timetables to pull out of both Iraq and Afghanistan, arguing that Obama should be more flexible to the requests of commanders on the ground.

"Today's announcement that we will remove all of our forces from Iraq is a political decision and not a military one; it represents the complete failure of President Obama to secure an agreement with Iraq for our troops to remain there to preserve the peace and demonstrates how far our foreign policy leadership has fallen," Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said in a statement. She said the U.s. should have demanded repayment for its cost of liberating Iraq, and demanded that Obama "return to the negotiating table with Iraq and lead from the front and not from weakness in Iraq and in the world."

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a presidential candidate who's been one of the most critical Republicans of the war, even expressed skepticism toward's Obama's announcement.

"I bet the Embassy doesn't close down," he told NBC's Anthony Terrell in Iowa.

Herman Cain, in Detroit on Friday to promote his economic plan, also disagreed with Obama's decision.

"Whether or not its the right thing to do, I would consult with the commanders. The thing that I wouldn't do that the president is doing is telling the enemy how many troops you gonna bring out and when you're going to bring them out," he told NBC's Andrew Rafferty. "I believe our time there was worth it...But I would not have announced this big draw down, tell the enemy so they are going to basically position themselves."

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Democrats, by contrast, were supportive of the president’s announcement.

Obama "honored our international commitments and advanced our national security," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "This is the right decision at the right time," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The announcement this afternoon by Obama, which came with short notice even to the media, seemed to have taken Republicans, including most of the presidential candidates, off-guard. Hours after Obama's announcement, most Republican leaders hadn't issued a statement on the withdrawal. And there was a protracted public dispute between the White House and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) over whether the administration had reached out to Boehner to brief the GOP Speaker on the decision before it was announced.

Boehner, in a statement, was less pointed in his criticism than some of his other GOP colleagues.

"While I’m concerned that a full withdrawal could jeopardize those gains, I’m hopeful that both countries will work together to guarantee that a free and democratic Iraq remains a strong and stable partner for the United States in the Middle East," he said.

An ally of Boehner, California Rep. Buck McKeon, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, criticized the decision in the same vein as most other Republicans.

"I remain concerned that this full withdrawal of US forces will make that road tougher than it needs to be. Multiple experts have testified before my committee that the Iraqis still lack important capacities in their ability to maintain their internal stability and territorial integrity," he said. "These shortcomings could reverse the decade of hard work and sacrifice both countries have endured to build a free Iraq."

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LOL

Romney being a jerk and trying to make up for praising him on Gaddafi.

Bachman and Cain, don't really make any sense...like usual.

Of course Obama does kind of have this coming for politicizing this earlier today and trying to make it look like a big success and that this was exactly what he wanted.

(when the media has said that his admin was frantically trying to get Iraq to agree to terms that would allow some troops to stay)

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They are just upset because of all the time and effort already put into plans to blast the admin for not getting out of Iraq.

The base will eat it up. I'm wondering if the all important "Swing Voter" can smell the B.S. from these responses. Romney should have just kept his mouth shut or said "I'd like to see the details before commenting". Now they all look stupid.

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They are just upset because of all the time and effort already put into plans to blast the admin for not getting out of Iraq.

The base will eat it up. I'm wondering if the all important "Swing Voter" can smell the B.S. from these responses. Romney should have just kept his mouth shut or said "I'd like to see the details before commenting". Now they all look stupid.

Honestly, I think Romney has a good point...but it's sort of lost in the nastiness of his response.

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Those ****s would complain if Obama brought peace to Israel and Cancer.

Even Ron Paul, whose platform is partially based on bringing ALL OF OUR TROOPS HOME can't even give Obama his kudos.

---------- Post added October-21st-2011 at 04:41 PM ----------

They are just upset because of all the time and effort already put into plans to blast the admin for not getting out of Iraq.

The base will eat it up. I'm wondering if the all important "Swing Voter" can smell the B.S. from these responses. Romney should have just kept his mouth shut or said "I'd like to see the details before commenting". Now they all look stupid.

I can smell it a mile away.

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Almost one down!

Now to bring them home from..

Afghanistan

Djibouti

Kenya

Egypt

South Korea

Japan

Philippines

Diego Garcia

Indonesia

Singapore

Thailand

Malaysia

Australia

Marshall Islands

New Zealand

Germany

Italy

United Kingdom

Spain

Norway

Sweden

Belgium

Portugal

Netherlands

Greece

Greenland

France

Poland

Turkey

Serbia (and Kosovo)

Qatar

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

United Arab Emirates

Antigua

Colombia

Saint Helena

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Netherlands Antilles

etc etc

and we can start to turn this ship around

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I think it's a purely political move on Obama's part so he can say that HE SINGLE HANDEDLY ended the Iraq war.

Sadly, I think this is completely true. And now we will waste a ton of money on "private security" and such that are mostly just troops that we trained who decided to get out so they could charge more.

Now to bring them home from..

Djibouti

Japan

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Australia

New Zealand

Germany

Sweden

United Arab Emirates

Antigua

Anyone who wants to bring our troops home from some of these places doesn't really care about our troops. Thailand Rocks!!!

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