Morning Update: Leaving Iraq
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, warned Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Thursday that a rapid withdrawal from Iraq would “turn around the gains we have achieved, and struggled to achieve, and turn them around overnight.” Still, Mullen said, “When a new president comes in, I will get my orders and I will carry them out” (ABC).
Aides to the Obama and Clinton campaigns both say they expect tens of thousands of troops to stay in Iraq for the foreseeable future, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) again attacked Obama (NYT) Thursday for his stance on Iraq. McCain said he does not think Obama “displays an understanding of the size of the threat” in Iraq. “This is not about decisions that were made in the past,” McCain said of Obama’s comments Wednesday that al Qaeda would not be in Iraq were it not for the U.S. invasion and occupation.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has responded critically to the Democratic candidates’ recent attacks on NAFTA. Harper said he “highly” doubts (Canadian Press) that the next U.S president will want to renegotiate NAFTA. He also warned that it would be a “mistake” for the U.S. government to open the U.S.-Canadian oil deal for renegotiation.
