Iraq pullout alterations ‘fairly remote’

President Obama’s top military advisors said Sunday the drawdown of troops from Iraq and a simultaneous influx of troops in Afghanistan is unlikely to change, given the situation in both countries.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the drawdown plans are likely to remain stable, calling any chance of adjustments to the planned schedule “fairly remote.”

{mosads}The White House announced this week that, in conjunction with the Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. troops would largely withdraw from Iraq by late August 2010, while thousands will be redeployed to Afghanistan, where the security stituation has noticably deteriorated.

Up to 50,000 troops will remain after the August 2010 deadline, though they will largely serve training, assistance and advisory roles, Gates said.

“The risk to our troops will be substantially less than certainly was last year, and it has, has gradually declined,” Gates said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a vocal opponent of withdrawing troops as recently as July, said conditions had changed dramatically since he voiced opposition to pulling out troops last year.

“I’m optimistic that conditions continue to improve. We just had a good set of elections in Iraq, well supported by the Iraqi security forces,” Mullen said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And that as those conditions continue to improve, we’ll be able to execute this mission.”

In Afghanistan, the U.S. will increase its troop presence by 17,000. So far, 12,000 troops have received orders to head to the country.

The new troops, Mullen said, “will be focused principally on providing security for the Afghan people,” a reflection of a reduced, security-focused mission after recent attacks from Taliban and al Qaeda-allied insurgents.

“It’s very important that we get these security needs met for the growing insurgency,” Mullen said on CNN’s State of the Union. “This is classic counterinsurgency. And we’ve to be able to protect and provide security for the Afghan people.”

Obama has not declared the country is winning or losing either war, statements Mullen and Gates also declined to make.

“I’m a little bit reluctant to talk specifically about winning and losing. We’ve turned it around over the last two years, and in great part that’s because of our incredible young men and women who served us so well,” Mullen told Fox.

“I think before you start using terms like ‘won’ or ‘lost’ or ‘victory’ or ‘defeat,’ those are the kinds of things that I think historians have to, have to judge.  But I think that from the standpoint of the military mission we will have enjoyed significant success,” Gates said on NBC.

Still, Mullen agreed with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who this week characterized the U.S. effort in Afghanistan as a losing one. “I said last September, in my testimony in Congress, that I didn’t think we were winning, although I thought we could. And I would also agree that if we’re not winning in a counterinsurgency, we are losing,” Mullen said on CNN.

In total, Mullen and Gates said the new president has listened extensively to his military advisors, soliciting opinions from everyone in the room in contrast to President Bush.

“The president has listened extensively in the time up to making this decision. And if past is prologue, I certainly expect that he would do so in the future,” Mullen said. “He clearly has sought my advice. I feel very comfortable that as a senior military officer and adviser to the president that he is giving me the time and the opportunity to advise him accordingly.”

Gates said a major difference between working for President Obama after serving former President Bush is the new president’s interest in a broad range of opinions.

“I think that probably President Obama is, is somewhat more analytical, and, and, he makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue. And if they don’t speak up, he calls on them,” Gates said. “President Bush was interested in hearing different points of view but didn’t go out of his way to make sure everybody spoke if they hadn’t, if they hadn’t spoken up before.”

The differences between working for the two commanders in chief, Gates joked, “sounds like the subject of a good book.”