Obama Outlines His Troop Pullout Plan

Democratic Presidential hopeful, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., questions Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on the future course of the war in Iraq, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, during the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh - AP)

Obama's speech comes a day after Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker updated Congress on the situation in the war zone during two days of testimony on Capitol Hill.

Petraeus recommended that a 2,000-member Marine unit come home this month and not be replaced. That would be followed in mid-December by the departure of an Army brigade of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. An additional four combat brigades would be withdrawn by July 2008.

Obama said the U.S. and the Iraqi government should discuss how to go about withdrawing troops.

"We must get out strategically and carefully, removing troops from secure areas first and keeping troops in more volatile areas until later," Obama said in prepared remarks. Key excerpts were obtained by The Associated Press.

Although he stopped short of calling for an immediate pullout of all troops, Obama said there should be a clear and certain timetable.

"But our drawdown should proceed at a steady pace of one or two brigades each month," he said. "If we start now, all of our combat brigades should be out of Iraq by the end of next year."

By arguing that only combat brigades should be withdrawn _ there are 20 in Iraq, including five President Bush sent January _ Obama appeared to suggest that other U.S. troops could remain.

Underscoring the importance he was putting on the speech, Obama was being introduced by Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was national security adviser to President Carter from 1977 to 1981. Brzezinski has endorsed Obama's bid, and Wednesday's appearance would be his first on the candidate's behalf.

Obama rejected Petraeus' recommendation to maintain current troop levels through next summer to ensure security gains are maintained.

"The president would have us believe there are two choices: keep all of our troops in Iraq or abandon these Iraqis," Obama said. "I reject this choice."

Instead, he argued for creating an international working group of countries in the region and in Asia and Europe that would work to stabilize Iraq.

Democratic rival Chris Dodd criticized Obama and Clinton, contending that they were backtracking on "the need for a firm, enforceable deadline" on redeploying U.S. forces. Dodd said Obama "has a gift for soaring rhetoric, but, on this critical issue, we need to know the substance of his position with specificity."

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Associated Press Writers Nedra Pickler, Liz Sidoti and Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.