WASHINGTON  – A substantial number of the roughly 100,000 U.S. combat troops to be pulled out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, will remain in the war zone through at least the end of this year to ensure national elections there go smoothly, senior Obama administration officials say.

That pacing suggests that although Obama’s promised withdrawal will start soon, it will be backloaded, with larger numbers of troops returning later in the 18-month time frame.

Obama was to announce his strategy Friday at the sprawling Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where thousands of Marines are soon heading to another war front, Afghanistan.

The administration now considers Aug. 31, 2010, the end date for Iraq war operations.

That timetable is slower than Obama had promised voters, but still hastens the U.S. exit.

Even with the drawdown, a sizable U.S. force of 35,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops will stay in Iraq under a new mission of training, civilian protection and counterterrorism.

The potential size of that remaining force doesn’t please leaders of Obama’s own Democratic Party, who had envisioned a fuller withdrawal. Obama personally briefed House and Senate members of both parties about his intentions behind closed doors Thursday.

Republican Sen. John McCain, who lost the presidential election to Obama, offered his support for the plan Friday.

“I think the plan is significantly different than the plan Obama had during the campaign,” said McCain, referring to Obama’s campaign pledge to pull combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months
of taking office if possible.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers in the briefing that ground commanders in Iraq believe the plan poses only a moderate risk to security, McCain said.

War critics are ready to hear Obama’s public words. They see his much-anticipated announcement as the beginning of the end of a long, costly conflict.

The last of the U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq no later than Dec. 31, 2011. That’s the deadline set under an agreement the two countries sealed during George W. Bush’s presidency. Obama has no plans to extend that date or pursue any permanent troop presence in Iraq.

Administration officials spoke about Obama’s Iraq decision under condition of anonymity to discuss details of the strategy ahead of the announcement.

The Iraq war helped fuel Obama’s presidential bid. Most Americans think the war was a mistake. More than 4,250 U.S. military members have died in the war.

From the Jan. 20 start of his presidency to his deadline for ending the combat mission, Obama has settled on a 19-month withdrawal. He had promised the faster pace of 16 months during his campaign but also said he would confer with military commanders on a responsible exit.

Officials said Thursday that the timetable Obama ultimately selected was the recommendation of all the key principals – including Gates and Mullen. The timeline was settled on as the one that would best manage security risks without jeopardizing the gains of recent months.

With 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, Obama plans to withdraw most of them; the total comes to roughly 92,000 to 107,000, based on administration projections.

Officials said Obama would not set a more specific schedule, such as how many troops will exit per month because he wants to give his commanders in Iraq flexibility. “They’ll either speed it up or slow it down, depending on what they need,” said one official.

Yet the officials made clear Obama wants to keep a strong security presence in Iraq through a series of elections in 2009, capped by national elections tentatively set for December. That important, final election date could slip into 2010, which is perhaps why Obama’s timetable for withdrawing combat troops has slipped by a few months, too.

One official said Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American commander in Baghdad, wants a “substantial force on the ground in Iraq to ensure that the elections come off.”

Another official said Odierno wanted flexibility around the elections. “The president found that very compelling,” the official said.

Obama has maintained that getting out of Iraq is in the security interest of the United States. He planned to emphasize in his comments on Friday, however, that the U.S. has no plans to withdraw from its interests in the region and will intensify its diplomatic efforts.

The senior administration officials sought to describe Obama’s decision-making process as one that was not driven by his political promise to end the war. They said he consulted extensively with his military team while interagency government teams reviewed the options.

Obama made the final decision on Thursday, officials said.

The U.S. forces that will remain in Iraq starting Sept. 1, 2010, will have three missions: training and advising Iraqi security forces; providing protection and support for U.S. and other civilians working on missions in the country; and targeted counterterrorism.

McCain, R-Ariz., said his understanding is that the troops left behind would still go on combat patrols alongside Iraqis as part of the advisory role.

“They’ll still be in harm’s way,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Obama had said all along he would keep a residual force in Iraq.

“When they talk about 50,000, that’s a little higher number than I had anticipated,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said before the briefing at the White House. Among others there was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also expressed concern about the troop levels.

Violence is down significantly in Baghdad and most of Iraq, although many areas remain unstable. U.S. military deaths in Iraq plunged by two-thirds in 2008 from the previous year, a reflection of the improving security after a troop buildup in 2007.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama is making his first visit to North Carolina since his election last November.

The White House announced on Wednesday that the president will deliver an address at Camp Lejeune. His visit is scheduled for Friday.

Obama’s visit comes following word from administration officials that he is expected to order all U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by August of next year.

Governor Perdue will join Col. David A. Smith, FRC East commanding officer, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of two new V-22 Osprey aircraft facilities Friday.

FRC East is the designated repair point for the V-22 Osprey that will be flown by the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at MCAS Cherry Point Visitor Control Parking Lot adjacent to the Main Gate in MCAS Cherry Point, NC.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama began overhauling U.S. treatment of terror suspects Thursday, signing orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, review military war crimes trials and ban the harshest interrogation methods.

With his action, Obama started changing how the United States prosecutes and questions al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters who pose a threat to Americans – and overhauling America’s image abroad, battered by accusations of the use of torture and the indefinite detention of suspects at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba.

“The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals,” the president said.

The centerpiece order would close the much-maligned Guantanamo facility within a year, a complicated process with many unanswered questions that was nonetheless a key campaign promise of Obama’s.

The administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

In the other actions, Obama:

-Created a task force that would have 30 days to recommend policies on handling terror suspects who are detained in the future. Specifically, the group would look at where those detainees should be housed since Guantanamo is closing.

-Required all U.S. personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual while interrogating detainees. The manual explicitly prohibits threats, coercion, physical abuse and waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed a form of torture by critics. However, a Capitol Hill aide says that the administration also is planning a study of more aggressive interrogation methods that could be added to the Army manual – which would create a significant loophole to Obama’s action Thursday.

“We believe that the Army Field Manual reflects the best judgment of our military, that we can abide by a rule that says we don’t torture, but that we can still effectively obtain the intelligence that we need,” Obama said. He said his action reflects an understanding that “we are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it’s easy, but also when it’s hard.”

-Directed the Justice Department to review the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri, who is the only enemy combatant currently being held on U.S. soil. The review will look at whether al-Marri has the right to sue the government for his freedom, a right the Supreme Court already has given to Guantanamo detainees. The directive will ask the high court for a stay in al-Marri’s appeals case while the review is ongoing. The government says al-Marri is an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

An estimated 245 men are being held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, most of whom have been detained for years without being charged with a crime. Among the sticky issues the Obama administration has to resolve are where to put those detainees – whether back in their home countries or at other federal detention centers – and how to prosecute some of them for war crimes.

“We intend to win this fight. We’re going to win it on our terms,” Obama said as he signed three executive orders and a presidential directive.

In his first Oval Office signing ceremony, Obama was surrounded by retired senior military leaders. He described them as outstanding Americans who have defended the country – and its ideals.

Even as the U.S. presence is on the verge of receding in Iraq, America needs to stay engaged with that key Middle Eastern nation, two international experts said in Richmond on Wednesday.

“Iraq could be a positive force in the region,” said former Iraqi defense official Nazar Janabi.But, Janabi said, “that will require some strategic patience” on the part of America.

Beyond that, said former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq David G. Newton,”America has an obligation to leave a viable [Iraqi] government behind.”

Besides, Newton said, “We do not want to have to go back there a third time.”

Janabi is now with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Newton is with the Middle East Institute in Washington.

The two spoke to about 150 people at a World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond program at the Omni Richmond Hotel on Wednesday night.

Continued engagement with Iraq is important because that country has about 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves, and sits in the middle of one of the world’s most volatile regions, Janabi said.

“It could be come a terrorist safe haven and the scene of future regional wars,” he said, “or it could become a stable and prosperous U.S. ally.”

And the U.S. has a moral obligation to the Iraqis to help repair the damage of the war, Newton said.

“What matters now is not how U.S. presence in Iraq started,” Janabi said, “but how it will change in the next four years.”

America’s infusion of troops into Iraq last year — the “surge” — has reduced violence and that “makes other things possible” to help build a stable society there, Newton said.

Though he decried the Bush administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq, “we can now have more hope,”

Newton said. “You can talk about success, if you define it carefully.”

Still, the retired diplomat said, “the progress made in Iraq is fragile.” Violence could easily flare up again.

The challenge facing the United States, Janabi said, is to prevent the emergence of authoritarian regimes — civilian or military — again in Iraq.

“It can do this by ensuring free and fair elections in Iraq in 2009, in the hope that this leads to the emergence of countervailing centers of power to check that of the central government,” the Iraqi analyst said, “and by maintaining a residual presence in Iraq beyond 2011 to deter the military from undertaking a coup.”

Janabi served from 2004 to 2006 as director general for defense policy and requirements in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. He now focuses on Iraqi and Middle Eastern security issues and democratization in the region.
Newton served as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq from 1984 to 1988 and as ambassador to Yemen from 1994 to 1997.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Vice President Dick Cheney paid a visit last weekend to a North Carolina holiday gathering of elite members of the U.S. military.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command said Tuesday that Cheney spoke at the closed event at Pinehurst Resort on Saturday.

The command includes Green Beret, Ranger, psychological operations and civil affairs units.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that resort spokeswoman Janeen Driscoll said the vice president arrived at 6:30 p.m. and left three hours later. Cheney spoke about 15 minutes to the gathering of about 500 people.

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said the vice president thanked the soldiers and their families for their service.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Senator-elect Kay Hagan said Tuesday she’s looking at the possibility of replacing departing Sen. Elizabeth Dole on the committees that oversee the military and banking.

If she’s assigned to either committee, the freshman senator could play a key role in new regulations targeted at financial institutions and how the nation approaches the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hagan has proposed new oversight of the banking industry and ending the war in Iraq to focus on Afghanistan.

Dole has sat on both panels, representing North Carolina’s large military installations and banking presence.

To begin her prep work, Hagan participated in three events geared toward veterans Tuesday. She attended a briefing at the State Fairgrounds with two of her future colleagues – North Carolina Reps. David Price and Bob Etheridge. She addressed the crowd and heard concerns from veterans struggling to get adequate care.

“In Washington, I’m going to work tirelessly to ensure that our veterans receive the care that you deserve, including access to higher education and quality and affordable health care,” Hagan said before heading to her hometown of Greensboro to meet with more veterans. She only took a few questions from reporters before leaving. Her staff did not return messages seeking additional comment about her plans.

Dole played a role in those issues when the Congress passed a new GI Bill this past year. Dole helped persuade congressional leaders to include a provision proposed by Republicans that would allow veterans to transfer the educational benefits to other members of their family.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Senator-elect Kay Hagan says she’s considering a focus on military and banking issues when she moves to Capitol Hill next year.
     
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RICHMOND, Va. – Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign sued the Virginia election board Monday, claiming absentee ballots weren’t mailed on time to military members serving overseas.

The complaint asks the U.S. District Court in Richmond to order the state to count absentee ballots postmarked by Tuesday and received by Nov. 14. It contends that thousands of troops’ ballots – many of which would go to McCain – will not be counted.

The deadline for ballots to be received is 7 p.m. Election Day, which is Tuesday.

The lawsuit is the second in a week to challenge preparations for the presidential election in Virginia, where Barack Obama hopes to become the first Democrat since 1964 to win the state’s 13 electoral votes. Polls over the past week show him about even with or slightly ahead of McCain.

More than 436,000 new Virginia voters have registered since Jan. 1, and about 500,000 people – a tenth of the state’s electorate- have cast absentee ballots.

The NAACP sued the state last week, alleging it allotted too few voting machines for the enormous number of voters in majority black precincts expected to be drawn by the prospect of electing Obama as the first black president.

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams on Monday declined to order longer voting hours and other changes requested by the NAACP. He did order the elections board to publicize the availability of curbside voting for older or disabled voters and the fact that people in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

A hearing on McCain’s lawsuit is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday before Williams.

That lawsuit alleges that ballots for overseas military voters were mailed too late to ensure they are returned by the deadline. Defendants are the chairwoman, vice chairman and executive secretary of the state elections board.

A 1986 federal law requires ballots to be mailed to military voters in foreign countries at least 45 days before the election, which this year would have been Sept. 20. The lawsuit alleges the state didn’t have the ballots printed and sent to local officials by then, meaning they may not have been mailed overseas until October.

Ashley L. Taylor Jr., an attorney for McCain, said tens of thousands of oversees military absentee ballots could be voided unless the deadline is extended.
 
“The last thing you want is to have a service member in Afghanistan or Iraq who received his ballot too late not being able to vote in this election,” Taylor said.

Board Chairwoman Jean Cunningham said late Monday afternoon the board had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.