Obama says slower Iraq withdrawal possible

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Thursday he would “slow the pace” of U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq if that was needed to ensure their safety.

At the same time, Obama said his intent, if elected president, is to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months.

{mosads}Republicans pounced, arguing it was a clear shift in position for the Democratic presidential candidate who made opposition to the Iraq war a defining part of his primary campaign. Obama’s campaign responded by saying Obama had always said he would listen to commanders on the ground in determining his position.

Obama made the remarks during a second press conference in North Dakota Thursday after his comments earlier in the day about refining his policies on troop withdrawals after meeting with military commanders in Iraq provoked a flurry of news stories and criticism from Republicans.

“I have always said that I would always reserve the right to do what’s best for America’s national interests, and if it turns out that we had to in certain months slow the pace, because of the safety of American troops in terms of getting combat troops out, of course we’d take that into account,” Obama said.

He then said his intention was to pull one to two brigades from Iraq each month, which he said would remove all U.S. troops from Iraq in 16 months.

Republicans said the comments indicate Obama is willing to flip on any position to help win the presidency, even “the defining issue” of his primary campaign.

"Obama’s Iraq problem undermines the central premise of his candidacy and shows he places political expedience above everything and anything else,” said Alex Conant, a Republican National Committee spokesman.

A spokesman for GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said Obama had reversed his position and was adopting the same stance as McCain.

“Now that Barack Obama has changed course and proven his past positions to be just empty words, we would like to congratulate him for accepting John McCain’s principled stand on this critical national security issue,” said spokesman Brian Rogers in a statement.

The Obama campaign, however, said there was no change in position. In a release to reporters, his campaign noted Obama has always said he would listen to commanders on the ground in implementing his Iraq policy, and cited several examples.

During his bruising primary battle with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Obama contrasted his opposition to the Iraq war with Clinton, who voted to authorize military action in Iraq. Obama was not in the U.S. Senate at the time of that vote.