Cole in Salon: "We’re Really Leaving Iraq"

My column is out in Salon.com, We’re really leaving Iraq: Some Iraq war critics are fretting about Obama’s speech on Friday, and his plan to stay a little longer. But here’s why there’s no reason for alarm.

Excerpt:

‘In particular, Obama’s plan to leave 35,000 to 50,000 support troops in Iraq between August 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, has made the left of his party as nervous as a vegan in a butcher shop. Congressional leaders like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have urged that the number be reduced to 15,000. . . So has Obama been reduced to “Bush Lite” on the Tigris? In his first detailed policy speech on Iraq, did he renege on his commitment to get out — or did he skillfully calibrate his plan to avoid any of the booby traps Mesopotamia might still hold for an American president? ‘

Read the whole thing.

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