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Obama: Seize the chance to get out of Iraq

Barack Obama says "we should seize this moment" as Iraq Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki calls for a timetable for the removal of American troops.

In a July 14, 2008, New York Times opinion piece, "My Plan for Iraq," Obama outlines his ideas for "phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States."

He goes on, "The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops."

Obama's strategy is detailed. He writes, "As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in."

His plan would get troops out of Iraq by the summer of 2010. Some forces would continue limited missions to restrict any Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protect American service members "and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces."

He notes, "That would not be a precipitous withdrawal."

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