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Obama to Exit Iraq, Close Gitmo
WASHINGTON — Once inaugurated America's 44th president, Barack Obama plans to start withdrawing US troops from Iraq, closing down the notorious Guantanamo detention center and stop torture to help restore America's moral status.
"As soon as I take office, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops from Iraq," Obama told the CBS's "60 Minutes" program.
"Particularly in light of the problems that we're having in Afghanistan, which has continued to worsen. We've got to shore up those efforts."
During his presidential campaign, Obama vowed to pull the 150,000 US forces from Iraq within 16 months.
He pledged to move some of the troops to Afghanistan to stabilize the violence-wracked nation.
"I've said during the campaign, and I've stuck to this commitment," Obama said in his first interview since defeating Republican rival John McCain in the November 4 vote.
America's first-ever black president will be inaugurated on January 20.
The Iraqi government voted on Sunday, November 16, to approve a wide-ranging military agreement that governs the presence of US troops in the country until 2011.
Under the deal, US troops should withdraw from all Iraqi cities by June 2009 and pull out entirely from the country by the end of 2011.
Moral Stature
Obama pledged to shut down the notorious Guantanamo camp to help restore America's moral stature.
"I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that," he said.
"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm going to make sure that we don't torture.
"Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world."
More
"Particularly in light of the problems that we're having in Afghanistan, which has continued to worsen. We've got to shore up those efforts."
During his presidential campaign, Obama vowed to pull the 150,000 US forces from Iraq within 16 months.
He pledged to move some of the troops to Afghanistan to stabilize the violence-wracked nation.
"I've said during the campaign, and I've stuck to this commitment," Obama said in his first interview since defeating Republican rival John McCain in the November 4 vote.
America's first-ever black president will be inaugurated on January 20.
The Iraqi government voted on Sunday, November 16, to approve a wide-ranging military agreement that governs the presence of US troops in the country until 2011.
Under the deal, US troops should withdraw from all Iraqi cities by June 2009 and pull out entirely from the country by the end of 2011.
Moral Stature
Obama pledged to shut down the notorious Guantanamo camp to help restore America's moral stature.
"I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that," he said.
"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm going to make sure that we don't torture.
"Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world."
More
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In his first interview since the election, Obama acknowledged the daunting nature of assuming office at a time of war and global economic crisis.
"The challenges that we are confronting are enormous and they are multiple. And so there are times during the course of a given day where you think: 'Where do I start in terms of moving - moving things forward?'," the president-elect told CBS television's 60 Minutes programme.
He said conversations with past presidents had persuaded him there was a "certain loneliness" to being in the White House.
"You'll get advice, and you'll get counsel," he said. "Ultimately, you're the person who's going to be making decisions. And - and I think that - even now, you know, I ... you can already feel that fact."
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/17/barack-obama-white-house
In a development that caught coalition officials by surprise, Iraq's cabinet yesterday ended one year of protracted negotiations by agreeing to a series of US amendments to draft documents. All but one cabinet minister present at the meeting committed to the agreement.
On Saturday the leading Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani dropped his opposition to the deal, in a shift that some observers believe paved the way for a Shia bloc in the cabinet to vote in its favour.
"The cabinet has just approved a deal between Iraq and the United States for the withdrawal of American troops," said a government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh.
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