A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal

• Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government
• Under the Obama plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel

Encouraging Political Accommodation

• Barack Obama believes that the U.S. must apply pressure on the Iraqi government to work toward real political accommodation

Surging Diplomacy

• Barack Obama will launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region. This effort will include all of Iraq's neighbors - including Iran and Syria, as suggested by the bi-partisan The Iraq Study Group Report

Preventing Humanitarian Crisis

• Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find sanctuary. Obama would also work with Iraqi authorities and the international community to hold the perpetrators of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable. He would reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq

The Status-of-Forces-Agreement

• Obama believes any Status of Forces Agreement, or any strategic framework agreement, should be negotiated in the context of a broader commitment by the U.S. to begin withdrawing its troops and forswearing permanent bases

Iraq Issues

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Support the Successful Counterinsurgency Strategy

• John McCain has been a leading advocate of the "surge" and the counterinsurgency strategy carried out by General David Petraeus

Push for Political Reconciliation and Good Government

• The government must improve its ability to serve all Iraqis. A key test for the Iraqi government will be finding jobs in the security services and the civilian sector for the "Sons of Iraq" who have risked so much to battle terrorists

Get Iraq's Economy Back on its Feet

• The international community should bolster proven microfinance programs to spur local-level entrepreneurship throughout the country. Iraq's Arab neighbors, in particular, should promote regional stability by directly investing the fruits of their oil exports in Iraq
• Iraq's government needs support to better deliver basic services: clean water, garbage collection, abundant electricity, and, above all, a basic level of security

Call for International Pressure on Syria and Iran

• The answer is not unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships from a position of weakness. The answer is for the international community to apply real pressure to Syria and Iran to change their behavior. The United States must also bolster its regional military posture to make clear to Iran our determination to protect our forces and deter Iranian intervention

Level with the American People

• The American people deserve the truth from their leaders. They deserve a candid assessment of the progress made in the last year, of the serious difficulties that remain, and of the grave consequences of a reckless and irresponsible withdrawal