Posted
7-4-08
NewsRoom
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NewsRoom Agency
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Obama Open to Changing Iraq Plan
Democratic presidential
nominee-in-waiting Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday left the door open to
altering his longstanding policy on Iraq of withdrawing American forces
soon after he takes office, should he win the November election.
"I am going to
do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he told reporters on the
airport tarmac in Fargo, N.D. "I'm sure I'll have more information
and continue to refine my policy."
Republicans have been
pressuring Obama to go to Iraq to get a first-hand assessment of the situation
there. They pounced on his reversal of policy following his comments.
"There appears
to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on
for the sake of political expedience," said Alex Conant, a spokesman
for the national Republican Party. "Obama's Iraq problem undermines
the central premise of his candidacy and shows him to be a typical politician."
Bush Breaks Ground on New Walter Reed Medical Center
President Bush on
Thursday broke ground on a new Walter Reed hospital, whose reputation
was tarnished recently over allegations of bad medical care.
"You soothe the
pain and fear of patients, you console families who keep constant vigil
over their loved ones, you share the joy of a neurology patient's first
recovered words and an amputee's first steps," Bush said in Bethesda,
Md., where the new Walter Reed National Medical Center will be built.
The old Walter Reed
facility will be combined with the National Naval Medical Center, which
is also in Bethesda.
Pentagon Extends
Tour For Marines in Afghanistan
The Pentagon on Thursday
extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan after saying for months
they would return to the U.S. on time.
The 24th Marine Expeditionary
Unit, which is currently conducting combat operations in the dangerous
southern part of the country, will have to stay an additional 30 days
and come home in early November rather than October.
Just on Wednesday,
military leaders stated they needed more troops in Afghanistan.
But Defense Secretary
Robert Gates has said he did not want to extend the tour of the Marines
in Afghanistan. He has called their deployment an extraordinary, one-time
effort to help tamp down the increasing violence in the south.
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