Later today, President Obama will announce his plans for the American troops in Iraq, and it’s getting more praise from Republicans than Democrats:
WASHINGTON — President Obama won crucial backing on Thursday for his Iraq military withdrawal plan from leading Congressional Republicans, including Senator John McCain, the party’s presidential nominee, who spent much of last year debating the war with Mr. Obama.
As the president prepared to fly to Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Friday to announce that he would pull combat forces out by August 2010 while leaving behind a residual force of 35,000 to 50,000 troops, he reassured Congressional leaders from both parties that his plan would not jeopardize hard-won stability in Iraq.
But Republicans emerged from a meeting Thursday evening more supportive than several leading Democrats, who complained earlier in the day that the president was still leaving behind too many American forces.
Mr. McCain said during the private White House meeting that he thought the withdrawal plan was thoughtful and well prepared, according to several people who were in the room. His spokeswoman, Brooke Buchanan, confirmed by e-mail on Thursday night that Mr. McCain is “supportive of the plan.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are far less enthusiastic:
[E]ven before the session, Democrats criticized the size of the residual force, even though Mr. Obama said consistently during the campaign that he would leave troops behind to continue training Iraqi soldiers, hunting terrorists and protecting Americans in Iraq.
“I’m happy to listen to the secretary of defense and the president, but when they talk about 50,000, that’s a little higher number than I anticipated,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, told reporters before heading to the White House. His spokesman said after the meeting that Mr. Reid still held those concerns.
Another person briefed on the session said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House speaker, was particularly upset. She kicked off the public criticism on Wednesday by saying she did not understand “the justification” for 50,000 troops.
Senators Patty Murray of Washington State and Charles E. Schumer of New York echoed those sentiments on Thursday. “Fifty thousand is more than I would have thought,” Mr. Schumer said. “We await the justification for why that would be.”
It’s also important to know exactly what type of basing arrangements these 50,000 troops will have. Will this be more like our presence in Europe after World War II, or Korea after 1952 ?
Inquiring minds want to know.
