From Taegan:
Chip Reid asked White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs if senators were correct calling the July 2011 date for beginning to withdrawal troops from Afghanistan a “target,” meaning there was some wiggle room.
Writes Reid: “After the briefing, Gibbs went to the president for clarification. Gibbs then called me to his office to relate what the president said. The president told him it IS locked in — there is no flexibility. Troops WILL start coming home in July 2011. Period. It’s etched in stone. Gibbs said he even had the chisel.”
That’s comforting. I hope that we can accomplish enough in these next eighteen months to make this investment worthwhile. And I hope that the completion of the withdrawal comes quickly after the beginning of the withdrawal.
