I'm pretty happy with this, right now.

This was his campaign promise -- it was better than McCain -- and now President Obama is quickly doing what he said he would.

The big thing, I feel, is that he has clearly stated and started a Change of Direction.

The Direction is no longer more war, more warmongering, more threats of wider war but now a direction of withdrawal and new foreign policies of diplomacy and engagement with nations the Bush neocons just wanted to destroy or continue to threaten (Syria, Iran, Russia, etc.).

What is wise about this, I think, is how even right-wing folks like McCain have come out and supported it. People who have been in the military support it or at least s...

I'm pretty happy with this, right now.

This was his campaign promise -- it was better than McCain -- and now President Obama is quickly doing what he said he would.

The big thing, I feel, is that he has clearly stated and started a Change of Direction.

The Direction is no longer more war, more warmongering, more threats of wider war but now a direction of withdrawal and new foreign policies of diplomacy and engagement with nations the Bush neocons just wanted to destroy or continue to threaten (Syria, Iran, Russia, etc.).

What is wise about this, I think, is how even right-wing folks like McCain have come out and supported it. People who have been in the military support it or at least see it being done in a clear and responsible way.

I think that may be of greater value than any 'extreme left wing,' idea of packing all the troops onto boats and planes and shipping them home by the end of the month.

However, and this is a real threat, the military shows itself to have it's own mind and opinion about this.

The Chief of Staff suggest larger forces stay. The Pentagon talks about a need and a possibility of staying longer. Child-level semantics have already started about who are 'combat troops,' and the idea is the generals will just give them different names, calling them advisors, trainers, or special 'counter-insurgence protective shields,' or whatever...and thus try to skirt around the deal that combat troops get out...that all troops get out...that there are no permanent bases (as several Congressional resolutions have declared (H.R. 2929, the last one) , as even Bush was always proclaiming no permanent bases).

But this appears to be ignored by our military, who appear to be building and planning for permanent bases and who also already talk about 'renegotiating the SOFA -- Status of Forces Agreement - with Iraq...

..and somehow we even think it natural for the military to be negotiating treaties (SOFA's).

I think some generals need to be fired, ASAP