thedrifter
03-05-08, 08:02 PM
Mullen says he opposes Iraq timetable
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 18:58:01 EST
WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday he is opposed to any politically mandated timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, but as the election season heats up, he said the military would certainly follow whatever decisions the next president makes.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a key war adviser to the president, told reporters at a Pentagon press conference that he does not favor any rapid withdrawal from Iraq that could jeopardize the security improvements there.
“I am against a timetable,” he said. “I think a precipitous withdrawal, any withdrawal which puts us into a situation where we sacrifice the gains in Iraq, where Iraq falls apart in that part of the world is something that would concern me greatly.”
He also said, however, that when a new administration comes in next year, he would make his recommendations to that commander in chief based on the conditions in Iraq. Then, he said, “the president ... whoever that might be, he or she, will make that decision, and we’ll move accordingly.”
The presidential contenders have offered markedly different views on what they think the military should do in Iraq. Republican Sen. John McCain, his party’s probable nominee, opposes a scheduled withdrawal and plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for the near future, while Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have said they would begin pulling forces out of Iraq in their first 60 days in office.
Asked if the military is ready for a woman or an African-American as a commander in chief, Mullen said yes.
“The United States military is ready to accept whoever the American people elect as their president and follow that president, as we have any president that’s been in office,” he said.
Ellie
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 18:58:01 EST
WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday he is opposed to any politically mandated timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, but as the election season heats up, he said the military would certainly follow whatever decisions the next president makes.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a key war adviser to the president, told reporters at a Pentagon press conference that he does not favor any rapid withdrawal from Iraq that could jeopardize the security improvements there.
“I am against a timetable,” he said. “I think a precipitous withdrawal, any withdrawal which puts us into a situation where we sacrifice the gains in Iraq, where Iraq falls apart in that part of the world is something that would concern me greatly.”
He also said, however, that when a new administration comes in next year, he would make his recommendations to that commander in chief based on the conditions in Iraq. Then, he said, “the president ... whoever that might be, he or she, will make that decision, and we’ll move accordingly.”
The presidential contenders have offered markedly different views on what they think the military should do in Iraq. Republican Sen. John McCain, his party’s probable nominee, opposes a scheduled withdrawal and plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for the near future, while Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have said they would begin pulling forces out of Iraq in their first 60 days in office.
Asked if the military is ready for a woman or an African-American as a commander in chief, Mullen said yes.
“The United States military is ready to accept whoever the American people elect as their president and follow that president, as we have any president that’s been in office,” he said.
Ellie