WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday the Pentagon will follow whatever decisions the next president makes about U.S. troop levels in Iraq but that he remains opposed to a timetable for withdrawing forces.
Asked if commanders who believe conditions in Iraq should govern troop cuts could accept a new policy, change course and move on, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yes. But he told reporters he does not favor any rapid withdrawal from Iraq that could jeopardize security improvements there.
“I am against a timetable,” he said. “I think a precipitous withdrawal, any withdrawal which puts us into a situation where we sacrifice the gains in Iraq, where Iraq falls apart in that part of the world is something that would concern me greatly.”
He also said, however, that when a new administration comes in, he would make his recommendations to that commander in chief based on the conditions in Iraq. Then, he said, “the president . . . whoever that might be, he or she, will make that decision and we’ll move accordingly.”
