Obama Willing to ‘Refine’ Iraq Withdrawal Plan

by FOXNews.com

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Barack Obama said Thursday he’s willing to “refine” his long-standing plan to withdraw all U.S. brigades from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, adding that his coming trip to the Middle East will be a chance to assess his military goals.

The Illinois senator, an opponent of the Iraq war from the outset, said his position has not changed. But he gave himself some new wiggle room after an adviser and a surrogate offered conflicting policy positions and Republicans claimed he was unwilling to modify his plan, even if it would jeopardize progress in the region.

“I have always said that I will listen to commanders on the ground. I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability,” Obama told reporters in Fargo, N.D.

“That assessment has not changed, and when I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”

Obama has already scheduled a trip to Europe and the Middle East that includes stops in Jordan, Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Obama’s campaign announced recently that he also plans to head to Iraq and Afghanistan over the summer as part of a congressional delegation, answering complaints from John McCain and other Republicans that he has not visited the region since January 2006.

“I’m going to do a thorough assessment when I’m there,” Obama said.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has said he would begin removing one to two combat brigades per month from Iraq after taking office. But on Thursday he suggested he wouldn’t jeopardize security in Iraq in pursuit of a timetable.

“My 16-month timeline … was always premised on making sure that our troops were safe,” Obama said. “And my guiding approach continues to be that we’ve got to make sure that our troops are safe, and that Iraq is stable. And I’m going to continue to gather information to find out whether those conditions still hold.”

The Republican National Committee swiftly accused him of flip-flopping.

“There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience,” RNC spokesman Alex Conant said in a statement. “Obama’s Iraq problem undermines the central premise of his candidacy and shows him to be a typical politician.”

Obama’s Iraq policy explanation came after Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a campaign co-chair, told MSNBC Tuesday, “No. No, he will not (change his Iraq policy) … Now is the time that we need to carefully and reasonably withdraw.”

Obama foreign policy adviser Susan Rice told the same network on the same day that the 16-month plan was a “timetable,” not a deadline, and that Obama would listen to commanders on the ground to devise his Iraq strategy.

Republicans seized on McCaskill’s statement. Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor said on a McCain conference call Wednesday that McCaskill “demonstrated his unwillingness to change direction.”

“I guess the question is, if … he’s going to go to Iraq and nothing that he sees will change or impact his decision-making on this, then why is he going?” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said. “And if it’s just to check a box, politically, then it, sort of, represents … the kind of cynical politics that most people … are pretty sick and tired of.”

Lee ADDS: Obama says, “Change,” then reverts to old style politics as he changes postions daily! Just who does he thinks he os fooling? Only the most ignorant of Amwerican politics can be taken in by his many, and varied, positions.