PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo.—Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters Monday that the military has plans in case the nation elects a president who wants a fast withdrawal from Iraq.
“We have plans. We plan all the time. We plan based on certain conditions, whatever they might be. That’s about all I would say about any kinds of plans we have for the future,” Mullen said.
Mullen met earlier with several hundred members of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command and reminded them civilians are in control.
“We should remember we are the ultimate apolitical organization,” he said. “There clearly will be change coming down the road.”
Last week, Mullen told reporters at a Pentagon press conference that he does not favor any rapid withdrawal from Iraq that could jeopardize security improvements there.
Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama has promised to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within a year if elected. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she would begin withdrawing troops in the first 60 days but has not set a timetable for completing a withdrawal. Sen. John McCain, who has clinched the Republican nomination, opposes a scheduled withdrawal and plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for at least the near future.
Mullen told reporters he visited Iraq last weekend and saw improvements from his previous visit in October. “The security we have created has got to be sustained,” he said.
Nevertheless, he returned to the possibility of change.
“There will be a turnover of presidencies come January. The president at that time will make decisions and I will be prepared to carry out the orders that I am given at the time,” he said. Whatever happens, he said his highest priority is to reduce the length of combat tours from 15 months to 12 months.
Mullen said he does not favor a draft to provide additional manpower, and efforts to recruit more volunteers will remain a high priority. He also said he supported original plans to move NORAD headquarters from deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, where it was located during the Cold War as a safe haven from Russian attack, to Peterson Air Force Base and continues to support the move.
Mullen later visited nearby Fort Carson, home to 21,000 Army troops, to observe a training exercise.
