Obama: Never mind all that stuff I said about Iraqi troop withdrawls

According to the New York Times, Barack Obama is now fudging on all his promises to his anti-war left voters about withdrawing troops from Iraq.

WASHINGTON — On the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama offered a pledge that electrified and motivated his liberal base, vowing to “end the war” in Iraq.

But as he moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making clearer than ever that tens of thousands of American troops will be left behind in Iraq, even if he can make good on his campaign promise to pull all combat forces out within 16 months.

-New York Times

I don't understand this distinction that the New York Times, and Barack Obama, is trying to make that the 16,000 troops that are pulled out of Iraq are "combat troops" and that the 30 to 50,000 troops that are left behind are non-combat troops? All members of the military that are serving over in Iraq (plus Germany, Japan, and South Korea) are trained to fight. What are they going to do if trouble breaks out around them? Go run and hide somewhere and let the Iraqi military protect them or wait until the "combat troops" fly back in? I've got an idea. Go tell any Marine or Army soldier that's left behind in Iraq that he or she is not a "combat troop", but just a "residual force".





Campaign Promises on Ending the War in Iraq Now Muted by Reality (NY Times)
Transitioning From Surrender To Victory (Just One Minute)
Conflicted about Obama (Babalu Blog)
Another Lie... Obama Won't Immediately Withdrawal From Iraq (Gateway Pundit)
NYT: Oh, by the way, forget about that whole “withdrawal from Iraq” thing (Hot Air)