Via The McCain Report, you can read a side by side comparison of Obama’s Iraq plan before and after his campaign scrubbed his website over the weekend. One particular “shift in emphasis” caught my eye: Obama’s original web page had a section titled Bring the Troops Home that didn’t say anything about the involvement of military commanders in the withdrawal. In fact, the entire web page didn’t mention military commanders. Now the title “Bring Our Troops Home” has been replaced with “A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal”. The current version states that the withdrawal will be “directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government.” What exactly does Obama mean when he says that the withdrawal will be “directed” by military commanders? It’s a given that any military operation will be executed by commanders. Is he trying to leave the impression that commanders will have a greater role than simply withdrawing all combat troops in 16 months?
