July 4, 2008 –IR Summary/NYT - While speaking on the issue on policies of Iraq, Senator Barack Obama said on Thursday that he might “refine” his policies after meeting with military commanders there later this summer.

But after some time, during his second news conference, he turned the point and emphasized his commitment to the withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

His two statements in Fargo, N.D., reflected how the changing dynamics in Iraq have posed a challenge for Mr. Obama, who is trying to retain flexibility as violence declines there without abandoning a central promise of his campaign: that if elected, he would end the war.

His remarks came as Republicans — including his all-but-certain opponent this fall, Senator John McCain of Arizona — have been arguing that Mr. Obama would most likely change his position on the phased withdrawal.

They suggest that with violence dropping in Iraq, bringing the troops home would risk erasing the fragile gains that have been made.

Mr. Obama said at his first news conference on Thursday that he planned a “thorough assessment” of his Iraq policy when he visited that country this summer.
“I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability,” he said. “That assessment has not changed. And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”

Mr. Obama has long spoken of consulting with commanders in the field as part of his plan for a phased withdrawal, but his shift in emphasis in the way he spoke about the situation on Thursday — after weeks in which Republicans and even an outside Iraq policy adviser to his campaign argued against a withdrawal along the lines he had proposed — fueled speculation that he might not be wedded to his timetable.

So the Obama campaign scheduled a second news conference to try to clarify his remarks. “We’re going to try this again,” Mr. Obama said. “Apparently, I wasn’t clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq.”

The evolving situation in Iraq has, in fact, tested both candidates.

Mr. McCain, whose support for the war helped him win the Republican primary campaign, now finds he must explain his position to an electorate largely weary of the war. And for Mr. Obama, who recently changed his positions on campaign finance and a wiretapping law, the suggestion that he was also changing course on a central premise of his candidacy holds particular peril. Full