During the press conference announcing his national security team yesterday President-Elect Obama gave mixed signals on his plan for Iraq. At one point he asserted that he remains dedicated to his sixteen month plan while at another he said he’d be flexible and listen to his commanders on the ground, even commending the recent SOF passed by the Iraqi parliament. What’s more, though he initially predicated his entire campaign on his fervent opposition to the war and determination to bring it to a premature end he is retaining the Defense Secretary responsible for implementing the current President’s surge strategy, which the President-Elect never went on record removing his opposition to. As his national security advisor he has even selected an individual who appeared with his opponent during the course of the late campaign.
In reality the requirement on President-Elect Obama regarding Iraq is straight forward and simple: don’t screw it up. The Bush Administration has handed over an Iraq almost completely pacified of al Qaeda and sectarian violence and increasingly stable and functional. In fact, as Rich Lowry points out, "Perhaps never has someone owed so much to a policy he opposed so vehemently. First, the success of the surge diminished the Iraq War as an issue in the general election. Second, it makes it possible to contemplate a responsible drawdown in Iraq."
That is all the next President needs to do for American victory – allow the present policy to proceed and conclude the success it has achieved.
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