The Army Times reports on the views of American soldiers toward the incoming administration, including why some members of the military backed Obama rather than a decorated veteran. Notwithstanding Barack Obama’s promises to help our men and women in the armed services by pulling them out of Iraq, it seems it was the economy, stupid:
First Lt. Paul White, a former enlisted soldier who has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, agreed that Obama needs to be careful about pulling troops out of Iraq too early. “If we pull the troops out, I think everything we’ve strived for would be for nothing,” said White, a combat engineer with the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas… But Army Maj. Chris Shields, executive officer for the Fires Battalion, 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, said he doesn’t believe the military will be turned upside down under Obama’s leadership. “I don’t thing he’s going to change a lot of things,” he said. “I don’t think he’s going to pull out of Iraq that quickly, unless he wants to let it fall into anarchy.” His advice to Obama: “Don’t cut the military’s budget when you get into office. It’s a very large and convenient thing to cut, but it’s a very short-sighted fix to economic problems. We’ll just pay for it later on when we have to go into another conflict.” Shields said he voted for Obama, though he called it “a hard decision for me.” He voted not on military issues, but rather on Obama’s stance on the environment and his message about getting the U.S. “weaned off a gasoline-based economy.” In fact, a number of service members interviewed by Military Times voted mainly on broader issues – with the economy atop the list… “I definitely think the economy is the big thing … it’s hurting everybody,” said Marine Sgt. Steven Castro, with Marine Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C., who voted for Obama. The economy “should be one of the first problems he tackles. Take care of homes and jobs and you don’t have to worry about a lot of other things.”
Obama was not specific in his 60 Minutes interview yesterday as to exactly how quickly he plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. The Iraqi Cabinet is clearly trying to remove uncertainty about the American commitment by characterizing the Status of Forces Agreement it has approved as consistent with Obama’s campaign promises. The stage seems to be set for Senator Obama to take credit for a victory in Iraq by simply not rejecting the drawdown put in place under the Bush administration. With rumors that Obama intends to ask Secretary Gates to stay on at the Defense Department, it seems Obama may be preparing to throw the anti-war netroots under the bus.
