President Obama's announcement two weeks ago that by August 2010 he will withdraw almost two-thirds of U.S. troops out of Iraq came during an annual Reserve Officer Training Corps competition.
Each year, graduating cadets vie for limited positions as legally commissioned military officers. Despite the withdrawal plan, Lieutenant Colonel William Hauschild, head of the Army ROTC Bobcat Battalion, said he believes the cadets' desire to serve their country won't be affected.
Hauschild, who has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, expressed support for the president's plan, saying, Obama has done a good job soliciting advice from military leaders. He's asking a lot of the right questions.
He added that the Bush Administration's surge strategy is one of the reasons why the ground situation is safer today.
Sophomore Logan Drake, a specialist in ROTC, also said he thought the plan was good, but added that because of his rank, his chances of serving in Iraq were slim and therefore he would most likely not be affected by the plan.
However, state and Democratic leaders have expressed concern with portions of the plan, particularly the residual force of 35,000-50,000 that will stay for another year.
You cannot leave combat troops in a foreign country to conduct combat operations and call it the end of the war. You can't be in and out at the same time
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said.
The plan also does not specify whether or not the troops will be deployed to Afghanistan, where US forces are still fighting the Taliban.
Professor Patricia Weitsman, who specializes in international relations, with an emphasis on international security and international relations theory, said she understands how taxed the military is and that, the burdens of the wars have fallen on the shoulder of a very few of our population.
However, she added, from the standpoint of American security, If the true war on terrorism or the true conflict for the US is in Afghanistan and minimizing the power of the Taliban and finding Bin Laden then that won't happen without troops being there.
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Dan Quarfoot
