wow! I am really impressed.
Obama's speech on frieday was pretty significant. He pledged for the first time to bring *all* troops out of iraq. In addition, he promised to comply with the deadline agreed upon on in the bilateral withdrawal agreement (aka sofa).
There is a large segment of the US public that believe obama has already promised to bring all troops home in 16 months, but he never did. He talked about combat troop withdrawal in 16 month, and that was modified to 19 months now. I personally don't see a big difference between 16/19 month combat troops withdrawal, and i dont think it'll have much impact on the ground.
The only 2 military withdrawals/redeployments that will have real effect on the Iraqi public opinion are: 1- the "combat troop" withdrawal from cities, towns and villages by june of this year (in accordance to the bilateral withdrawal agreement) 2- the complete withdrawal of all troops (combat+non-combat) before decemeber 31st 2011.
of course, a "no" vote in the iraqi public referendum this july (or a "no" vote by US senate in case the agreement was submitted for ratification) would make the deadline shorter. It'll move from
december 31st 2001 to 12 months after the "no" takes place.
overall, I think this was the most significant speech by obama re Iraq so far. It is a new direction that I is very positive.
That said, I still think the work to pressure obama for a shorter timetable is still needed.
