First 100 days: The Iraq withdrawal

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube reported yesterday, “U.S. military and administration officials tell NBC News that President Obama is expected to announce that more than half of the American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq within 19 months. The plan, expected to be announced later this week, would draw down the number of forces from the current 142,000 to around 50,000.” More: “Although the plan falls short of Obama's campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat forces from Iraq within 16 months, one senior military official said, ‘It's close.’ The official also points out, however, that the remaining force of 50,000 would still contain a sizeable ‘combat element’ to provide rapid reaction assistance to Iraqi combat forces and force protection for the remaining American troops and U.S. government civilians. The sources say the 19-month timetable was one of three options presented to President Obama for the withdrawal of forces – 16-, 19- and 23-month withdrawal plans. A senior military ... (link)