The Last Patrol? As word surfaced that President Obama would deliver a major speech about Iraq after he returns from summer break, the departure of the last U.S. combat brigades from Iraq and the next steps for that country was a focus of the Sunday conversation. Asked about a scenario where there would still be some U.S. military presence in Iraq ten years from now, the commander of U.S. forces,
Gen.RayOdierno said "it depends on what type of presence you're talking about."
Three men who helped shape the war -- former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, the former head of U.S. Central Command Admiral William Fallon, and the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad – offered their assessments as well. Khalizad called it a "tall order" for Iraqis to be ready to assume full responsibility for their country's security once the residual 50,000 U.S. troops leave at the end of next year. Gen. Myers said Iraq is becoming "more and more stable every day," and Adm. Fallon offered that while the Iraqis "have largely been responsible for internal security for some time now, they are not particularly ready for external security."
73 Days and Counting History and current polls may indicate that Democrats are facing a November beatdown, but
HowardDean, disagrees, at least publicly. Said the former Democratic presidential candidate and party chairman: "I think we have better candidates than the Republicans do." Dean also says it's up to President Obama to set the tone for the Dems in a way nobody else can.
On NBC, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell refrained from making a prediction about the midterm elections, but said "if the election were tomorrow, we'd have a good day."
He's "Ready for Round Two" FormerIllinoisGov.RodBlagojevich continued his tv victory lap Sunday. Earlier this week, a Chicago jury deadlocked on 23 criminal counts against Blagojevich stemming from his alleged attempt to sell President Obama's former senate seat. He told FOX that at his retrial, his side is prepared to call Rahm Emanuel and Harry Reid as witnesses. Stay tuned.
Gen. Ray Odierno, on CNN's "State of the Union" CROWLEY:
"Can you foresee a scenario like that, that there would be some U.S. military presence, albeit much smaller, at 2020?" ODIERNO:
"Well I -- yes -- I think I don't know. I think it depends on what kind of presence you're talking about. If the government of Iraq requests some technical assistance in fielding systems that allow them to continue to protect themselves, some external threats, we could be here." Zalmay Khalilzad on CNN's "State of the Union" "The question for me is whether next year withdrawing the entire force with some residual training elements perhaps remaining, whether the Iraqis will be ready then. I believe that's a tall order." Gen. Richard Myers on CNN's "State of the Union" "I think it's becoming more and more stable every day. We've got the political impasses right now. But assuming they work through that, then the trend lines are up. And I would just say, you know, there is never a perfect time to leave a situation like this." Adm. William Fallon on CNN's "State of the Union" "I think this milestone is part of an ongoing evolution in accordance with the security agreement that we reached with the Iraqis a couple of years ago. Iraqi security forces have largely been responsible for internal security for some time now. They are not particularly ready for external security, and that's a major factor." Former Gov. Howard Dean on CNN's, "State of the Union" "Here is the deal. It's not the coattails. We know he doesn't have coattails from the '09 elections, the governor's race. What he does do is set the tone for the Democratic Party in a way that nobody else can… for the president to be out there fighting, as he has been for the last two or three weeks, and sounding like Harry Truman, people love that stuff. They want to see a fighter. They want to see strength in their leaders, and I think President Obama is showing that strength." Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky, on NBC's "Meet the Press" "I'm not going to make a prediction. I will say this, if the election were tomorrow, we'd have a good day. There are at least 12 seats in the Senate where Democrats are on defense. That's pretty unusual because we had very bad results on our side in '06 and '08. So we're on offense, the American public has taken a look at this administration, they think it's spending too much, borrowing too much, taking over too much of the private sector, and now raising taxes on top of it. I think we're going to have a very good day." Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, on "Fox News Sunday" "I'm ready for round two. In the second round we're going to put a defense on I'm certain and in that particular case we're going to call witnesses like Rahm Emanuel, Senator Harry Reid, Senator Menendez, Congressman Jackson, Congressman Costello and a host of other leading Democrats who were involved in this process to try and make a decision on who the next senator should be." Additional SOTU information:
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