Obama Considers Reaching Out to Taliban

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama said the United States is not winning the war in Afghanistan and hinted at possible talks with moderate elements of the Taliban.

Highlighting the success of the US strategy of bringing some Sunni Iraqi insurgents to the negotiating table and away from Al-Qaeda, Obama told The New York Times that “there may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region.”

The strategy in Iraq had been developed by General David Petraeus, then commander of US forces in the country.

“If you talk to General Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of Al-Qaeda in Iraq,” Obama said in the interview published in the online edition of the Times.

But Obama warned that Afghanistan was not Iraq, and that reconciliation efforts could face difficulties …

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US Says 12,000 US Troops to Leave Iraq by Sept.

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN | Associated Press

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military announced Sunday that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September — hours after a suicide bomber struck police and recruits lined up at the entrance of Baghdad’s main academy, killing 32 people.

The blast — the second major attack to hit Iraqis in three days and the deadliest to strike Baghdad in nearly a month — was a bloody reminder of the ability of insurgents to defy security improvements and stage dramatic attacks as the U.S. begins to draw down its forces.

Maj. Gen. David Perkins said the troop withdrawals will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 along with some supporting units. The U.S. also plans to turn over 74 facilities and areas under its control to the Iraqis by the end of March as part of the drawdown.

President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops by the end of August 2010 with the remaining forces leaving by the end of 2011. The 4,000 British troops due to leave are the last British soldiers in Iraq.

The U.S. withdrawal will be gradual at first, leaving most troops in place for parliamentary elections at the end of this year. There are currently about 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Remaining American forces will be repositioned in coordination with Iraqi authorities to ensure the most dangerous areas of the country are protected, Perkins said …

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Iraq a ‘Success,’ Withdrawal Plan Unlikely to Change: Gates

By Dan De Luce | AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday touted military “success” in Iraq and said it was unlikely that conditions would force a change in plans to withdraw most US troops within 18 months.

Asked if the United States will have achieved victory when it pulls out of Iraq, Gates said “we have had a significant success (on) the military side,” while acknowledging “the political side is still a work in progress in Iraq.”

“Frankly, I think before you start using terms like ‘won’ or ‘lost’ or ‘victory’ or ‘defeat,’ those are the kinds of things that I think historians have to judge,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

President Barack Obama on Friday ordered an end to US combat operations in Iraq by August 31, 2010, saying a force of 35,000-50,000 would remain through 2011 — down from the current 142,000-strong force.

The residual force would stay in Iraq under a new mission until the end of 2011, when all US troops are required to leave under an agreement between Baghdad and Washington.

The US defense chief said he did not expect the scheduled drawdown to change.

“I would characterize the likelihood of significant adjustments to this plan as fairly remote,” said Gates …

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Violence in Iraq Drops to Six-Year Low

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2009 – Violent attacks in Iraq are at their lowest levels since August 2003, a U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday.
Army Maj. Gen. David Perkins, director for strategic effects at Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad the downtick in violence marks a 90-percent decrease since the surge of U.S. troops began in 2007.

Perkins added that on Feb. 20, no Iraqi civilians were killed or even targeted in attacks.

“This is a very significant event, and we are seeing more and more days like that throughout Iraq,” he said.

Contributing to the improved security are the growing Iraqi security forces, which have increased the size of their ranks from 463,000 last year to 618,000 now – a 25-percent boost.

“It’s not only an increase in the size and numbers, but the capability such as planning, orchestrating these very complicated operations, and then leading throughout the country of Iraq,” Perkins said.

He added that Iraqi forces led and planned security for the countrywide provincial elections last month, in which some 7 million Iraqis participated in balloting that featured 14,000 registered candidates.

“On election day this year, there were no attacks which resulted in any disruption to any of the voting that went on,” Perkins said. “This is in comparison to the last national election period in 2005, where we had hundreds of attacks on election day, with 44 deaths.”

Election results are being widely accepted by victors and vanquished alike, he said.

“If you take a look at emerging democracies, historically, it is generally the second election that is sometimes more difficult than the first election,” the general said. “By the time the second election comes, those who may have to lose power or give up power are not necessarily as excited about doing that.

“But the fact that we’ve had this second election and a very large number of people participating, both as candidates and as voters,” he continued, “shows the enthusiasm that Iraqis have for the democratic process here in Iraq.”

The downturn in violence comes as U.S. forces begin transferring a greater share of power to Iraqi forces in keeping with the status-of-forces agreement that became effective Jan. 1. The agreement between Washington and Baghdad stipulates that American combat forces pull back from cities and villages to major bases by June 30.

“There is no doubt that we will be out of the cities by June, and we are working this day by day,” Perkins said. “And you can see many of these facilities we have already transferred, as well as the upcoming ones, are part of this plan to move out of the cities.”

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In twist, GOP Likes Obama’s Iraq Plan, Democrats Don’t

By Mark Johnson, Ryan Beckwith and Steven Thomma | McClatchy Newspapers

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — President Barack Obama announced here Friday that he’ll withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, but his plans to leave as many as 50,000 U.S. troops there through 2011 made many Democrats in Congress angry, while Republicans cheered.

It was an ironic reception for a new commander-in-chief whose presidential campaign was built initially on his early opposition to the Iraq war and his promise to end it if elected.

“I am deeply troubled by the suggestion that a force of 50,000 troops could remain in Iraq,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif. “This is unacceptable.”

“I question whether such a large force is needed to combat any al Qaida affiliates in Iraq or whether it will contribute to stability in the region,” said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

“You cannot leave combat troops in a foreign country to conduct combat operations and call it the end of the war. You can’t be in and out at the same time,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. “We must bring a conclusion to this sorry chapter in American history.”

The Republican Obama defeated in November for the presidency, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, lauded the plan …

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Most Iraqis Welcome Obama’s Pullout Plan

By Mark Kukis | Time

It should come as no surprise that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been quick to endorse emerging plans to hasten the departure of U.S. forces from his country. Maliki, after all, had opposed the Bush Administration’s decision to increase U.S. troop levels in the surge of 2007, and he had forced a reluctant Washington to accept a hard deadline for withdrawal in the Status of Forces Agreement adopted late last year. The growing abilities of the Iraqi security forces and the strengthening of his political position after last month’s provincial elections have added to Maliki’s confidence in managing without the Americans. “We welcome such a decision and support it,” said Tahseen al-Shekhli, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, of Obama’s intention to end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by August 2010. “We consider this as a good-faith sign from the American Administration toward Iraq and Iraqis.”

Word of the new White House drawdown plan, which Obama officially announced on Friday morning in a speech at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, was greeted with shrugs of contentment by most Iraqi political figures, largely because the Obama plan appears to be in step with what Iraqis had expected as a result of the Status of Forces Agreement signed by the Maliki government and the Bush Administration last December. That agreement requires most U.S. combat troops to be off the streets of Iraq by this summer and all U.S. troops to have left the country by 2011. (See pictures of Basra’s return to normality.)

The most powerful political factions in Iraq would prefer to see U.S. forces leave sooner rather than later …

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Top Lawmakers Skeptical of Obama’s Plan to Leave up to 50,000 Troops in Iraq after 2010

By ANNE FLAHERTY | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders were skeptical as they awaited details on President Barack Obama’s plan to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq while leaving tens of thousands behind. Senior administration officials were expected to outline a plan that would bring most of the 142,000 forces home by August 2010. As many as 50,000 troops could remain for cleanup and protection operations.

“I have been one for a long time that’s called for significant cutbacks in Iraq, and I am happy to listen to the secretary of defense and the president,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters Thursday before the briefing at the White House. “But when they talk about 50,000, that’s a little higher number than I had anticipated.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had said Wednesday that she too wanted to hear the president’s justification for keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq.

“I do think that there’s a need for some,” Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC. “I don’t know that all of them have to be in country.”

Republican lawmakers were skeptical for a different reason. They were concerned that troops might be pulled out too fast and security gains sacrificed …

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Officials: US Troops to Exit Iraq by August 2010

By PAMELA HESS and ANNE GEARAN | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August of next year, administration officials said Tuesday, ending the war that helped define his upstart presidential campaign — although a little more slowly than he promised.

The withdrawal plan — an announcement could come as early as this week — could help Obama turn his attention to another campaign pledge: Deploying more troops to Afghanistan, a region he calls the central front in the war on terrorism.

The timetable is a compromise. Removing so many people and tons of equipment presents logistical difficulties. Some commanders and advisers worry that security gains could backslide in Iraq if troops are brought out too soon, while others think the bulk of U.S. combat work is long since done.

Obama built enormous grass-roots support for his White House bid by pledging to withdraw troops from Iraq 16 months after taking office. That schedule, based on removing roughly one brigade a month, was predicated on commanders determining that it would not endanger U.S. troops left behind or Iraq’s fragile security …

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Iraq’s Abu Ghraib Prison, Renamed, Reopens

By Saif Tawfeeq | Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi officials on Saturday formally reopened Abu Ghraib prison, which became synonymous with abuse under the U.S. occupation, and in addition to a fresh coat of paint, gave it a new name.

The prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad earned global notoriety after U.S. jailkeepers filmed themselves tormenting and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners less than a year after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The pictures sparked global anger and helped fuel a raging anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and has only started to fade in the past year.

Renamed Baghdad Central Prison, it already has around 400 inmates, said prison director general Alsharif al-Murtadha Abdul al-Mutalib.

“The prison is officially open and we have received inmates. Hundreds are present,” Mutalib told a swarm of reporters and cameramen at a media open house at the prison …

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Analysis: Even Military Split over Iraq Pullout

By ROBERT BURNS | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama faces split opinions within the military on whether to make the speedy withdrawal from Iraq he championed on the campaign trail.

Obama’s top generals in Baghdad are pressing for an elongated timetable, while some influential senior advisers inside the Pentagon are more amenable to a quicker pullout.

Although Obama has yet to decide the matter, his announcement last week that he’s sending thousands more combat troops to Afghanistan implies a drawdown of at least two brigades from Iraq by summer.

But that does not answer the question that has been dangling over Iraq since he took office in January: Will Obama stick to his stated goal of a 16-month pullout or opt for a slower, less risky approach? …

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