IRAQ ENDGAME…. During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama had a standard line in his stump speech about the war in Iraq: ”I intend to end this war. My first day in office, I will bring the Joint Chiefs of Staff in, and I will give them a new mission, and that is to end this war responsibly and deliberately but decisively.”
If we count Wednesday as his first full day in office, it’s a pledge the new president apparently intends to keep.
On his first full day as president, Barack Obama will meet with high-ranking military officers to discuss the Iraq war, a conflict he has vowed to end after six years of fighting, a top adviser to Obama said Saturday.
Wednesday’s meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other military commanders and aides will fulfill a key campaign promise and bring the war back to the political forefront after months of being overshadowed by the economy. […]
The Obama adviser, who would speak Saturday only on condition of anonymity because the Wednesday meeting has not been formally announced, said the session will include several top commanders and aides in addition to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
CNN, citing two transition officials, noted the same meeting scheduled for Wednesday, and added that it “suggests the new President wants to send a signal to supporters that despite his heavy focus on the financial crisis he will also address Iraq early in the new administration.”
