by Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON - The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus - and a firm denial by a White House official - of an account of the Jan. 21 White House meeting suggesting that Obama had requested three different combat troop withdrawal plans with their respective associated risks, including one of 23 months.
The Petraeus account, reported by McClatchy newspapers Feb. 5 and then by the Associated Press the following day, appears to indicate that Obama is moving away from the 16-month plan he had vowed during the campaign to implement if elected. But on closer examination, it doesn't necessarily refer to any action by Obama or to anything that happened at the Jan. 21 meeting.
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After Bush spent years glorifying Petraeus and building him up into a MacArthur like figure, Obama has a real problem on his hands. Petraeus wants to parlay his supposed military prowess into a political career. If Petraeus does not support Obama's strategic plan he should resign. Instead he plays politics and obviously would like to be fired so he could kick off his run for the presidency as an aggrieved general. It would certainly play well to the christian right and the redneck wingnuts. What should Obama do? Peacenik would fire Petraeus' sorry ass and take his chances. The military must not be allowed to engage in politics, while in the military.
