Obama To Highlight Iraq Shift From Military To Diplomacy

President Obama will talk today about our changing mission in Iraq.

In a speech at the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, Obama was to address the progress being made to meet his deadline of drawing down all combat troops by the end of the month. A transitional force of 50,000 troops will remain to train Iraqi security forces, conduct counterterrorism operations and provide security for ongoing U.S. civilian efforts.

“Make no mistake: Our commitment in Iraq is changing, from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats,” Obama said in excerpts released ahead of the speech.

Obama has said all U.S. troops will be gone from Iraq by the end of next year.

The political offensive on Iraq comes on the heels of the WikiLeaks release of damaging information in Afghanistan, and an attempt bythe administration to address concerns about being involved in foreign wars.

A fact sheet prepared by the White House, for instance, pointedly notes that even with his troop buildup in Afghanistan, the drawdown in Iraq means that the total number of uniformed Americans in the two countries will have dropped from 177,000 when he took office to about 146,000 by the end of August.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.