Actually, President Obama Is Meeting Bush's Promise On Iraq Withdrawal

From MSNBC and most media, including FOX News: End of war in Iraq is a major campaign promise kept by Obama.

Well, I'm as happy as the next guy that we're getting out of Iraq but that claim is nothing more nor less than spin (or poor memory) of the highest order.

Actually, removing troops from Iraq by the end of this year was Bush's promise cast in an agreement with the Iraqis several months before Obama won the general election. Prior to that agreement that Bush made with the Iraqis in mid-2008, Obama's consistent campaigned-on date was "16 months after taking office" ... June 2010. All Obama can honestly claim is not screwing up a promise Bush made to Americans and Iraqis.

In case you're interested, the facts and timeline are:

Through 2007:
Here is a quote repeated by many sources: "Obama will immediately [upon taking office] begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month [starting day 1 of his presidency], and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months (ie, by June 2010)."

February 19, 2008 (At his Texas primary victory speech):
Per CBS News report: "In his victory speech in Texas Tuesday, Barack Obama promised to end the Iraq war in 2009" ... ie, during(!) his first year in office. So, a few months after saying he'd get them out by June 2010, he said he'd get them out 6 months earlier than that ... by December 31, 2009. That may have been a gaffe because he consistently said "16 months after taking office" in all other speeches during his campaign.

March 7, 2008 (Per Politico.com):
Obama's campaign website describes Iraq withdrawal within 16 months of taking office (ie, by June 2010).

August 4, 2008 (Per AntiWar.com):
"Seventeen months after President Barack Obama pledged to withdraw all combat brigades from Iraq by June 2010, he quietly abandoned that pledge Monday, admitting implicitly that such combat brigades would remain until the end of 2011." This anti-war group has no reason to bend the truth and they weren't happy he changed his mind at the last moment to the date Bush already agreed to with the Iraqi government.

So, throughout his campaign, Senator Obama consistently(!) said he'd get the troops out by June 2010. It wasn't until after he'd won the Democratic primary and was all but assured of winning the general election a scant three months later that he said he'd bring them home by the date Bush previously established by written agreement with Iraqis, December 31, 2011.

It's completely irrational to claim Obama campaigned on bringing them home by the end of 2011 when for all but the last three months he said he'd do it by June 2010. He ran his entire campaign on bringing them home by June 2010. It wasn't until the campaign was effectively over that he conceded to do it by the date previously established by Bush ... the end of 2011.

Let's give credit where credit is due. What's really happening is that we're bringing the troops home by the date Bush promised to Americans and Iraqis. The only thing for which we owe Obama credit is not messing that up.