Mullen comfortable with Obama's Iraq timetable
2009-03-01

Category U.S. Military Nations Iraq City Baghdad States Anbar Province Category Regions People Barack Obama Event Second Gulf War Source (AP)

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military official says he's comfortable with the president's decision on a troop pullout timetable from Iraq.

Adm. Mike Mullen says he was able to offer his best military advice to President Barack Obama. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman is reluctant to talk about "winning and losing" in Iraq. But he says the conditions are in place for the Baghdad government to successfully take control of the country.

Mullen says Obama listened extensively to the American military leadership and U.S. commanders in Iraq before announcing last week that the combat mission would end on Aug. 31, 2010.

Under Obama's plan, the 142,000 U.S. forces in Iraq would be drawn down to between 35,000 and 50,000 troops by the 2010 date. All forces would be withdrawn by the last day of 2011.

Mullen spoke on "Fox News Sunday" and CNN's "State of the Union."