Idaho vets reflect on Iraq timetable

BOISE -- Americans observed this Veterans Day Tuesday knowing a new commander-in-chief will take over in January.

And President-elect Barack Obama campaigned for the White House pledging to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office and refocus on the war in Afghanistan.

So how does that timetable go over with veterans?

Vets we talked to who are still serving pointed out their job is to follow orders.

"Because Barack Obama will be our new president and he will be my commander in chief, I will fully support him in anything he deems necessary," said Elizabeth Lahny, who is in the United States Navy and served in Fallujah, Iraq.

Sgt. Joel Henretty with the Idaho Army National Guard has seen duty in Afghanistan. "Of course I will do what President-elect Obama requires," he said. "I am all for not having war, for getting out of war, but as long as it's done the right way. Just saying you're going to pull everybody out, and then you pull everybody out. That kind of worries me."

Older vets were also concerned about a precipitous pull out.

"The only thing I can think of is to not pull them out too soon," said Michael Grigsby, who fought with the United States Marines in Vietnam. "It's got to be a positive transition so that when our troops pull out, they (Iraqis) can take over."

D.W. Landin is commander of VFW Post 63 and said, "I would hope our president elect would allow America's fighting men and women to leave the battlefield with victory rather than have a political withdrawal. We've done that too many times in the past."

Victory in Iraq is hard to define and some military and foreign policy experts say, once in office, Obama may show some flexibility in how he goes about withdrawing troops from Iraq.
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