Page 6 - Draw Down News Today

Forces that can still be depl deployed into these valleys, if theyre not there all the time. the bad news is theyve done there. >> fran, is part of the bad news also that it is somewhat obvious proof that as the united states pulls back and asks the karzai government to do more, to prevent them from coming back, and maybe to cut a deal with the taliban of some sort so the taliban is not friendly to al qaeda, that those pieces, critical pieces of the equation, are failing? >> well, john, i think ...

Supporting this war? >> certainly. i think that 2014 is the date or the win doe -- window, approximately date. but in july of next year theyll have a pretend moment to take a few people out and begin what they like to call a draw-down. its a political date. it is going to come at an interesting time when the republican nominating process for president is heating up. president obama would like, theyre escalating into pakistan and waziristan and theyre trying to make gains so they can show some ga...

>> it really is not misleading. its about a change of mission. obviously well be here to train, advise and assist the iraqi security forces. they will have the primary responsibility for security in this country. >> reporter: as of september 1st, u.s. forces will need permission from the iraqi government for any operation they conduct except for action they take in self-defense. if you find out osama bin laden is coming across the syrian border into iraq you cant go get him without prime ministe...

Ultimately will build it there or will they build it somewhere else in lower manhattan? e-mail us right now. friends at foxnews.com. >> vice president joe biden will be in indianapolis today to talk about the war in iraq. this comes days after the last u.s. combat troops begin to leave the country. will the v.p. address the fact that iraq still does not have a government and, perhaps, have not put enough pressure on that government or helped that government work towards a compromise? kelly wrigh...

Afghanistan, there will be catastrophic consequences, president obama has no choice but to follow general petraeus. >> bottom line is youre right. the president, as we say, got jammed yesterday and i think this makes it 99% likely that when the position is announced, we will technically begin a draw-down as the president promised but any withdrawals will be token. where literally the vice president said at most a couple of thousand people. here we are in the summer of 2010. this suggests this wi...

And that is we will leave when were done here. and we wont leave until were done here. i mean, he is channeling george w. bush, right? >> youve got a split down the middle of this administration. the pentagon, the secretary of state all want to do a conditions based when essentially means no withdrawal other than a token amount so the president can say he made good on his pledge. on the other side, you have the white house and the political advisers who want to do a real beginning of a draw-down...

A conditions-based withdrawal. hes focused on making the case for more progress in the war effort before there would be any kind of significant drawdown. >> thats really news. hes got so much power and clout right now. i cant imagine the white house going up against this general. there is so much political pressure on the president to try to do that draw-down and try to make it more significant on july 1st next year. >> you know, i spoke to the general as well about the comparisons to iraq, beca...

>> and, john, you know, i know its august and the controversy goes on but theres something to be said. around town, people are saying, hey what he said was accurate. probably shouldnt have said it. >> this is an interesting debate. im going to use the magic wall. we have a virtual white house briefing room here. lets go inside this debate. he says, look, the president came to office, washington is a tough town, and look at all these things theyve done the left wanted. they passed financial refor...

Obviously, should not have been. any indication to you why? >> i dont think it was a comfort issue as most of the sort of things that you might call controversial were said within the first 24 hours literally. but i think -- but i think what they were saying was an expression of very clear frustration towards the policy. perhaps they chose the wrong form to express it in. but their criticisms and their critique, you know, should not just be discounted because they were said so colorfully and ent...

Surface and mcconnell was right saying that the withdrawal of the troops, the draw down was negotiated by the public administration. in response to iraqi demandses, not as a concession to the american left the he made the decisions on what he thought were the american national interests. and the surge was something that obama opposed. that is the only reason we are now in a position to drawdown. >> what is disturbing is in the speech he spoke of ending the war four times, and did not use the wor...