Obama Says Iraq Troop Withdrawl On Schedule

By aaroncynic in News on Aug 2, 2010 7:00PM

President Obama announced today that his plans to draw down combat forces in Iraq by August 31st, 2010 are on schedule. In a speech to the Disabled Veterans of America in Atlanta, Obama said “Already, we have closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of bases. We’re moving out millions of pieces of equipment in one of the largest logistics operations that we’ve seen in decades.” By the deadline, U.S. Forces will number 50,000 - a reduction of 94,000 since Obama took office according to the Tribune. At present, there are nearly 65,000 soldiers in Iraq. This does not include contractors however, which number more than 100,000.

Obama went on to briefly speak on Afghanistan, saying that “nearly all the additional forces that I ordered to Afghanistan are now in place” and that the administration is “insisting on greater accountability” on the civilian front. The amount of troops on the ground in Afghanistan has tripled since Obama took office.

Obama's remarks come at a difficult time in managing public opinion over both wars. The administration is still dealing with the fallout from the leaked documents surrounding the war in Afghanistan and though the House appropriated another $59 billion for both wars, 102 Democrats opposed the bill. Still, the administration touted its success in Iraq. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said “the fact that there's a stable transitional government in place right now is a sign that this process is working.”