Obama Reconsiders Iraq Withdrawal

The Associated Press reports that the White House is considering at least two methods for troop withdrawal from Iraq. Though Obama promised to remove all combat brigades within 16 months of his inauguration, a new plan requiring 23 months—until the end of 2010—is also at play, as well as a middle-of-the-road 19-month compromise. Though Iraqi violence has been quelling, many worry that anything less than a rigorous precision during the upcoming withdrawal could upend the tentative balance. Obama is expected to powwow with military and foreign affairs advisors before rendering his decision in “weeks, not months.”