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Officials To Plan For Drawdown From Iraq

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The Associated Press

Published: January 22, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, in a meeting with his top national security advisers Wednesday, asked the Pentagon to do whatever additional planning necessary to "execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq."

Obama's statement, issued by the White House after the gathering, marked the opening salvo of his much-anticipated effort to pull troops more quickly out of Iraq, but it made no reference to any timeline or his campaign vow to get combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months.

"The meeting was productive and I very much appreciated receiving assessments from these experienced and dedicated individuals," Obama said. "During the discussion, I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq."

He added that in the coming days he also plans to travel to the Pentagon and meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"We will undertake a full review of the situation in Afghanistan in order to develop a comprehensive policy for the entire region," Obama said.

Wednesday's strategy session included Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, both critics of the management of the war. Officials familiar with the meeting declined to disclose details of what was discussed.

"This is a logical first step for a new president that wants to learn about or to speak to the people that are most directly involved," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The White House meeting was part of a symbolic framing of a new president's agenda on his first full day in office.

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the schedule is not confirmed, said that meeting with the Joint Chiefs - the president's senior uniformed military advisers - would come within a week.

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