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January 21st,
2009 - Diplomats, Generals Join Obama in War Meeting News article from the
Associated Press |
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Diplomats, Generals
Join Obama in War Meeting By Anne Gearan Associated Press January 21, 2009 Washington - President
Barack Obama invited the U.S. ambassador in Iraq to sit in on a war council
session Wednesday, an opening step toward ending the nearly six-year-old
conflict. "This is a logical
first step from a president that wants to learn about or to speak to the
people that are most directly involved," Pentagon spokesman Bryan
Whitman said. The White House said the
strategy session would include Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, both
critics of the management of the war. Obama campaigned on a promise to pull
U.S. combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months. The White House meeting was
part of a symbolic framing of a new president's agenda on his first full day
in office, but it does not completely fulfill Obama's oft-repeated promise to
call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and tell them to close down a war he
opposed. A senior military official,
speaking on condition of anonymity because the schedule is not confirmed,
said that meeting with the Joint Chiefs - the president's senior uniformed
military advisers - would come within a week. Instead, the agenda as
announced by the White House included the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Ryan
Crocker; another State Department representative and the general responsible
for both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The State Department had
been expected to send William Burns, its senior official, but those plans
were made before Hillary Rodham Clinton was confirmed by the Senate Wednesday
as Obama's new secretary of State. The chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, was attending along with Defense Secretary
Robert Gates. Both are holdovers from the Bush administration, now getting
new instructions. The top general in Iraq,
Gen. Raymond Odierno, was participating by video hookup. He has already drawn
up one set of withdrawal plans. Odierno's boss, Gen. David Petraeus, was to
be there in person, along with Obama's new chief of staff and White House
national security adviser. The agenda for Obama's White
House meeting changed several times. At one point it was to include a broader
look at the war in Afghanistan, which Obama has said was hobbled by a
misguided focus on Iraq. The Pentagon first said that
the top commander in Afghanistan would participate, and then said he would
not. Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman
for the Iraqi prime minister, told Associated Press Television News on
Tuesday that Iraq is willing to have the U.S. withdraw its troops and assume
security for the country “before the end of 2011,” the departure date agreed
to by former President George W. Bush in November. Senior military leaders had
been wary of any timeline, saying that withdrawal plans should be keyed to
continued security improvements, but have said that they could meet either
the deadline set with Iraq or the shorter one Obama wants. Associated Press writers
Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jlEwGEJtiJYWb6WLWWQ4RfLX7eIwD95RPLVG0 Obama Calls Meeting to Reshape
Pentagon Strategy He will confer today with Defense Secretary Gates, Gen. Petraeus and
other top military officials, with Iraq withdrawal a key topic. He also calls
Mideast leaders to discuss peace efforts. By Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times January 21, 2009 Reporting from Washington -
President Obama will discuss U.S. military involvement in Iraq with his
senior national security team this afternoon, a critical first meeting as the
new administration reshapes the Pentagon's war strategy. "Running up to the
inauguration, the president made clear this is one of the important items on
his agenda," said Bryan Whitman, the Pentagon spokesman. "This is a
logical first step for a new president that wants to speak to the people most
directly responsibility for managing and executing the wars." Obama is scheduled to meet
with White House National Security Advisor James L. Jones and Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates along with Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S.
forces in the Middle East. In addition, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top
commander in Iraq, will participate by video teleconference. At the meeting, expected to
begin around 4 p.m. Eastern time, Obama could order a change in war policy
and direct the military to speed up its withdrawals. But some officials believe
it is more likely that the president will ask the Defense Department take
some time to draft new plans for his approval. Military officials said that
will give them a chance to reconcile commanders' current plans with the
wishes of the new president. During the campaign and
after the election, Obama repeated his wish to withdraw all combat forces
within 16 months, or by mid-2010. Advisors have said he would be open to
leaving a residual force of tens of thousands of noncombat troops to train
Iraqis and provide support. The U.S. has agreed to
withdraw its entire military force by the end of 2011 under a security
agreement with Iraq. Odierno has developed another plan that would allow the
removal of forces before the end of 2011, but has a more cautious timetable
than the one outlined by Obama. Odierno and other commanders
want to ensure that they have enough forces to help with Iraqi security for
national elections scheduled at the end of the year. Mideast Peace On another foreign policy
issue, Obama placed calls to several Mideast leaders today to demonstrate his
interest in Arab-Israeli peace "from the beginning of his term and to
look for ways to strengthen a cease-fire following Israel's three-week
offensive in the Gaza Strip, the White House said. Obama called Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah. "In the aftermath of
the Gaza conflict, he emphasized his determination to work to help
consolidate the cease-fire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime
to prevent Hamas from rearming, and facilitating in partnership with the
Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in
Gaza," the White House said. Guantanamo On another matter, Obama
issued his first order to the military Tuesday night, ordering Gates to
temporary halt all military commission proceedings at the U.S. detention
center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Whitman said today that the
military was awaiting a "broader comprehensive review of policy and
procedures." Defense officials also said they are awaiting an executive
order from the White House, expected within a week, that will outline further
the future of the prison at Guantanamo. "The president has made
his intentions well known and he has taken the first steps," Whitman
said. "I suspect the department would get [further] guidance in the near
future." Whitman said that Gates was
asked by the president to suspend the hearings. Gates issued an oral order
last night asking for a temporary halt and he is expected to follow it up
with a written directive today. There are two ongoing cases
at Guantanamo. In one case this morning, prosecutors today asked for a
120-day continuance, which was unopposed by defense counsel and granted by a
judge. External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-security22-2009jan22,0,1363695.story |