At Pentagon, Obama Pledges Decisions 'Immediately'
U.S. President Barack Obama pledged his "full support" for the military following his first meeting with the Pentagon's top uniformed and civilian leaders, a session highlighted by discussions on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other security threats around the globe.
President Obama met Jan. 28 with top military brass in his first Pentagon trip. (ROB CURTIS / STAFF)
Obama, who has promised to listen to a range of options before deciding how to fulfill campaign promises to end the Iraq war and bolster the fight in Afghanistan, did not indicate that any decisions were reached on the two wars during the nearly two-hour meeting. But he expressed an urgency to do so.
"We're going to have some difficult decisions that we're going to have to make surrounding Iraq and Afghanistan, most immediately," Obama said after the Jan. 28 session. "And obviously, our efforts to continue to go after extremist organizations that would do harm to the homeland is uppermost on our minds."
Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and the other Joint Chiefs, and National Security Adviser James Jones just outside the Chiefs' E Ring meeting room known as "the Tank," Obama said the wide-ranging discussion ran on to the point where "we just kind of lost track of time."
Obama led off his remarks with praise for the military.
"I want to first of all thank all the men and women in uniform ... they are the best that this country has to offer," Obama said. "The first thing that I said to the Joint Chiefs in this meeting was how grateful we are for their service, the sacrifices that they and their families make ... that sometimes we take for granted. And as commander in chief, one of my principal goals during my presidency is to make sure that they have the resources and the support that they need to carry out the critical missions that keep our nation safe each and every day.
"We also talked about making sure that the health of our force is always in our sights," Obama continued. "And I know that all the chiefs that are represented here, as well as Secretary Gates, are confident about all we need to do to make sure that people are in uniform for the United States are getting the kinds of support that they need. That's something that I'm absolutely committed to, and I know that Vice President Biden is as well."
Obama characterized the meeting as a "wonderful discussion" about "a range of issues facing our military, as well as the threats that face this nation, both short term and long term. We had discussions about Iraq, as well as Afghanistan; we talked about some of the broader global risks that may arise, and the kind of planning and coordination that's going to be required between our military and our civilian forces in order to accomplish our long-term national security objectives."
Obama met last week with his National Security Council and other U.S. leaders at the White House to discuss the Iraq war. He'd pledged to subsequently meet with the Joint Chiefs to discuss the wars and other security issues, and said then that his administration is launching a "full review of the situation in Afghanistan in order to develop a comprehensive policy for the entire region."
At the Pentagon, Obama said that he has "every confidence" that the military will perform well and that his job is to ensure that the "civilian side of the ledger does its job in support of what they are doing."
But he acknowledged the strains that years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed on the force.
"We have for a long time put enormous pressure on our military to carry out a whole set of missions - sometimes not with the sort of strategic support, and the use of all aspects of American power, to make sure that they're not carrying the whole load.
"And that's something that I spoke with the Chiefs about, and I intend to change as president of the United States," Obama said. "All of you who are serving in the United States armed forces are gonna have my full support.
"And one of my duties as president is going to be making sure you have what you need to accomplish the missions."
After emerging from the meeting, Obama and Biden walked down the Joint Chiefs corridor and shook hands with service members.
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