It appears from press reports that the generals responsible for Iraq - David Petreaus and Ray Odierno, along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - are lining up in opposition to the president's planned 16 month withdrawal timetable.
CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.Petraeus was visibly unhappy when he left the Oval Office, according to one of the sources. A White House staffer present at the meeting was quoted by the source as saying, "Petraeus made the mistake [?] of thinking he was still dealing with George Bush instead of with Barack Obama."
In other words, Obama is ignoring the advice of his generals on the ground in Iraq as well as the military minds at the Pentagon and is going ahead anyway with his withdrawal plans.
[but to listen to the Obama administration staffer, it was Petraeus that made a mistake?]
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