The U.S. and Iraq are close to an agreement to start removing troops from Iraq. This is something we have all been calling for and is also a key issue for Obama. While this falls short of Obama's targets, it is a step in the right direction.
While we should all be happy that these events are begining to unfold and our troops will finally start the process to get out of Iraq, one must question is this genuine or is it a political one-upsmanship from the Republicans to take away one of the Democrats key issues?
Iraq and the U.S. pushed close to a deal Thursday setting a course for American combat troops to pull out of major Iraqi cities by next June, with a broader withdrawal from the long and costly war by 2011.
Subject to final approval by the top Iraqi leadership, the exit date for U.S. troops would be December 2011, although the Americans insist on linking that target to additional security and political progress
Bush has resisted a timetable stating that would give our "enemys" a taget date to wait for our exit so they could then do their damage. Now, with a little more than two months before the election, his administration is working on the details of a withdrawl agreement.
This makes me question if we could have pulled troops out much earlier with the same level of "success" but Dubya was just waiting for the proper political time to do so. Furthermore, if a timetable agreement is reached, does the Obama campaign say it's not soon enough? Will this appease the majority of voters and take the Iraq issue off the table in their minds?
Will this backfire on the Republicans making the economy the one and only major issue which will remind voters what the Republicans have done to it over the past eight years.