President Obama took steps today to bolster support for his as yet unofficially announced troop withdrawal plan that would leave up to 50,000 troops in Iraq by inviting a small group of Congressional leaders over to the White House for a Thursday briefing.
A senior Congressional aide told Raw Story that the members of Congress would be informed of "the totality of his plans" prior to Obama's speech on Iraq tomorrow and would be briefed this afternoon. The staffer declined to identify specific members, having not been authorized to speak publicly about the issue.
With the news that the president will likely propose leaving up to 50,000 observer troops in Iraq past the withdrawal of all other American forces, some members of Congress are still making up their minds about the plan, while others, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have questioned the prudence of maintaining such a large American force.
In a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, Pelosi spoke disapprovingly of the high troop number.
"I don't know what the justification is for the presence of 50,000 troops in Iraq," Pelosi said. "I do think that there's a need for some. But I don't think that all of them have to be in country. They can be platformed outside. ... I would think a third of that, maybe 20,000 ... 15 or 20,000."
