Obama's Iraq plan has December elections as turning point for pullout

President Obama's planned Iraq troop drawdown would leave the bulk of American forces in place until early next year while some combat units would remain in place in new roles even beyond a declared August 2010 target for withdrawal, administration officials said Wednesday. The plan would maintain relatively high troop levels through Iraq's parliamentary elections, to be held in December, before beginning in earnest to meet the August 2010 target for removing combat forces, the officials said. Even after August 2010, as many as 50,000 of the 142,000 troops now in Iraq would remain, including some combat units reassigned as "Advisory Training Brigades" or "Advisory Assistance Brigades," the administration and Pentagon officials said. Mr. Obama consistently said during his campaign that he would leave a residual force for training, protection and counterterrorism missions. But the gradual pace of his withdrawal–spread out over 19 months, instead of the 16 months he promised during the campaign–and the possible size of the remaining force left some Democrats discouraged, while some Republicans cautioned against moving too quickly. The administration intends to call those remaining troops a "transition force." "I don't know what the justification is for 50,000," Representative Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and the House speaker, said on MSNBC. Noting that she wanted to hear the president's plan, she added, "I would think a third of that, maybe 20,000, a little more than a third, 15,000 or 20,000." Her Republican counterpart, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, said Mr. Obama's plan might not be realistic and compared it to the president's decision to close the American detention center in Cuba even though the details would take a year to work out. "What we don't need is another Guantánamo decision that may fly in the face of the facts on the ground," Mr. Boehner told reporters. "While it may have sounded good during the campaign, I do think it's important that we listen to those commanders and our diplomats who are there to understand how fragile the situation is." Mr. Obama plans to seek more money for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from a separate fund outside the Pentagon's base budget, which will also grow beyond the 2009 spending plan of $513 billion. The separate "war costs" budget proposal for 2010 could reach $130 billion to $140 billion, officials said. The officials agreed to discuss the withdrawal plan on condition of anonymity in advance of an expected announcement by Mr. Obama during a trip on Friday to Camp Lejeune, N.C. The planned drawdown reflects an attempt to balance competing imperatives, including Mr. Obama's campaign promises, the ground commanders' desire to maintain flexibility and guard against any fresh escalation of sectarian violence, and the military's need to relieve the strain on the armed forces. Word of Mr. Obama's impending decision generated little of the anger that has flavored the Iraq debate for years. Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, a group that has strongly opposed the war, said activists were willing to give Mr. Obama the benefit of the doubt. "People have confidence that the president is committed to ending the war," Mr. Ruben said. "This is basically what he promised in the election." Senator John McCain of Arizona, the former Republican presidential candidate and a strong supporter of the war, did not take direct issue with Mr. Obama's plan on Wednesday, but noted that there was a "huge caveat" in the tens of thousands of troops who would be left behind. "Let's also be realistic," Mr. McCain said. "Advisers in any conflict are in harm's way." Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., without discussing details, said the drawdown would satisfy public hunger to begin ending the war. "I think the American people will be–understand exactly what we're doing and they'll be pleased," he said on NBC's "Today" show. "We're keeping a campaign commitment." The withdrawal would start slowly, with 2 of the 14 American combat brigades now in Iraq pulling out before the December elections, officials said. After the transition to a new government, the withdrawal would accelerate early next year. "The commanders are concerned about maximizing their numbers on the ground for as long as possible, at least until we get to the other side of the elections," another senior official said. Officers warned that even as overall troop levels dropped, there would be fresh American units deploying to Iraq, both to replace those whose tours end and to reshape the force into one better suited for training and advising Iraqis. While most of the troops remaining after August 2010 would be in support roles, some would still be serving in combat as they conducted counterterrorism missions. "I think a limited number of those that remain will conduct combat operations against terrorists, assisting Iraqi security forces," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, summarizing past descriptions of the new mission offered by administration and Defense Department officials. "That's a limited number, a very limited number. But by and large, you're talking about people who we would classify as enablers, support troops."