Mullen: No Warning to Democrats on Iraq
Chairman's Staff Responds to ABC Story
By Mark I Posted in 2008 | Admiral Michael Mullen | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton | Iraq | Joint Chiefs of Staff | troop pullout — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Pejman Yousefzadeh did a good job covering a report on ABC News that Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen issued a warning to the Democratic presidential candidates not to pull out of Iraq too fast. Mullen was quoted saying:
"I do worry about a rapid withdrawal. . . [that would] turn around the gains we have achieved and struggled to achieve and turn them around overnight."
I also covered the story for AOL's The Political Machine. Mullen's staff has now responded to that story and rejected the characterization that the Chairman was issuing a warning to the Democratic candidates.
Read on...
In my AOL piece, I characterized Mullen's comments about a precipitous pullout from Iraq as something of a reversal for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Earlier this month, Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway and Army Chief Gen. George Casey, both JCS members, made public comments opposing Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus's plan to conduct a strategic assessment this summer, pausing the troop drawdown.
Capt. John F. Kirby, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Public Affairs, responded to that characterization.
Adm. Mullen's comments were not a reversal for him. He has always maintained that conditions on the ground in Iraq should dominate any decision about troop reductions, and he has never said at any time that he either favors or opposes a "pause." Indeed, while he continues work on the Joint Chiefs' assessment of progress in Iraq, he has tried to remain open-minded to all options. Nor should his comments be construed as a challenge to any particular presidential candidate. He has consistently and repeatedly resisted a hasty withdrawal from Iraq not based on operational conditions.
CAPT John F. Kirby
Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Public Affairs
The characterizations of Adm. Mullen's position made in my AOL article are based on media reports of a dispute between the Chiefs and Gen. Petraeus. Published reports of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' decision to back Gen. Petraeus's plan also contained assertions that the Joint Chiefs as a whole were opposed to the idea.
While I recognize that neither my AOL article on that dispute nor the media source I cited contained a direct quote on the pause from Adm. Mullen, The Washington Post did quote him as having a "different perspective" than Petraeus on the pause.
In addition, Gen. Conway and Gen. Casey were quoted in the same article directly opposing the pause out of concern for the welfare of the armed forces. In light of those comments, I think the characterization of a reversal in position by the JCS with respect to the pause is warranted.
I recognize that Adm. Mullen is not engaging in the presidential primaries with his response to the ABC News reporter's question, and it was not my intention to put words in the Chairman's mouth. I did quote the Chairman, whose term will extend into the next Administration, Republican or Democrat, as saying that he will follow whatever orders the new president gives him.
However, it is unquestionably true that a victory by Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama in the general election would result in a pull out order, whereas a victory for Sen. McCain would not. Therefore, I stand by the article's assertion that Adm. Mullen's comments can be interpreted as particularly directed at the Democratic candidates.