Obama calls for troop withdrawal in 6 months
By Rob Olmstead and Joseph Ryan
Daily Herald Staff Writers
Posted Monday, November 20, 2006Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, called this afternoon for troop withdrawal from Iraq starting next year and negotiations with Iran and Syria over the war-torn country's future.
In a speech sure to draw political fire, the Democrat told attendees of a Chicago Council on Global Affairs event downtown that withdrawal should begin in the next four to six months and that those soldiers should be moved to Afghanistan to focus on terrorist groups again gaining strength in that country.
Obama, who is considering a run for president in 2008, also advocated negotiating Iraq's future with neighboring Iran and Syria, an option President George Bush has rejected as he blames both countries for meddling in the U.S. effort to install a democratic government.
"We know these countries want us to fail and we should remain steadfast in our opposition to their support of terrorism and Iran's nuclear ambitions," Obama said. "But neither Iran nor Syria want to see a security vacuum in Iraq filled with chaos, terrorism, refugees and violence as it could have a destabilizing effect on the entire region and within Iran and Syria themselves "