Obama and Iraq: Exit Strategy

By: Ally Pawelczyk

According to Christan Science Monitor's website, President Obama's campaign promise of leaving Iraq within 16 months may run into several logistic problems. The Bush administration had signed an agreement which requires most of the troops to be out of Iraq by 2011. The question is whether or not troops will stay as non-combatant forces. Troops is not the only issue, but the supplies, aircraft, or vehicles in Iraq will either need to stay there or be shipped back. Gifting humvees and old generators is always an option.

The main point of the article that I found intriguing was the distinction between being the public's president and the army's commander in chief. Each role demads a different goals, relations, and means to the end. I can imagine how difficult it is for the President to find a medium, or make a choice to fulfill both roles while keeping them happy as well. The commander in chief's issue is security, domestic and overseas, and realistic methods. The role of President, on the other hand, would obviously adress security, but ended a commonly believed unpopular war as quickly as possible. Politics are always interesting.:)