Age: 40
Hometown: Brooklyn
“I don’t think he should leave the troops. They need to come home. The Iraqis need to work it out with their country and we need to work it out with our country.”
Age: 27
Hometown: Long Island, New York
“He should leave some troops there because they will at least hold up security until everything gets stabilized and we can get them out.”
Age: 22
Hometown: The Bronx, New York
“Obama’s choice to leave some troops behind in Iraq is not a bad decision because soldiers will provide Iraqi citizens with some sort of balance and security. It will also give the U.S. government a way to record the progress that Iraqis are making toward achieving a stable government.”
Age: 26
Hometown: New York City
“Well, I don’t think he can take them out all in one shot. It has to be a gradual process; but as far as the 50,000 troops, as long as they are not impeding the living conditions of the people that are in that nation, a gradual evacuation, I think, is fine.”
Age: 22
Hometown: Long Island, New York
“Even if it might go against what he initially said in his campaign, I think due to the economic crisis, he has to kind of look at what his plans are and re-evaluate and prioritize. So I think based upon that, the decision that he is making is the best one at this point.”
Age: 32
Hometown: New York City
“I think President Obama is making decisions that he thinks makes sense, but it is time for the troops to come home. I think he should remove as many as he thinks makes sense.”
Age: 31
Hometown: New York City
“I think he is right as far as trying to bring home the troops, but I don’t think he should leave as many as 50,000 behind. There has to come a time when Iraq becomes self-sufficient and govern and police themselves.”
Age: 56
Hometown: New York City
“I don’t think he should leave some troops there, because if we are pulling out, we should get out.”
Age: 23
Hometown: Harlem, New York
“I think it was all talk from the beginning. I didn’t vote, I don’t vote, I’m neutral. I think he said that to get people to vote for him.”
Age: 29
Hometown: Brooklyn
“I think he was clear in the debate that there would be a necessity to have some kind of maintenance to leave some troops there. I don’t think he said all troops should be completely removed from the Middle East. I don’t think it’s contradictory and I think he should go along with the plan.”
Age: 25
Hometown: Brooklyn
“I don’t think it’s going against his campaign plan because I’m pretty sure that it’s necessary for some troops to stay over there with these issues going on. He should not go against his word, but some things are necessary and you have to change things up.”
Age: 24
Hometown: Tidesville, Florida
“It’s actually not going against what he originally said because he is removing troops like he said he was going to do. If we were to remove everybody it would be like a devastation there, so he can not remove everybody at this moment. But at least he is trying to get some of our troops home.”
Age: 24
Hometown: New Jersey
“I feel as though he’s doing the best that he can. It’s a process, he can’t just do everything at one time, so I guess slowly but surely he will bring them all back home but until then we will have to see.”
Age: 51
Hometown: Brooklyn
“It’s going against his original campaign plan because your first word is the one that you should stick with.”
Age: 37
Hometown: New York City
“Obviously, a lot of us that are civilians don’t know what it takes to pull out of a war. A lot of things are not readily available to the public. I trust President Obama to do what’s necessary for the United States.”
Age: 36
Hometown: New York City
“It’s not going against his original campaign plan if they still need help. As long as he is bringing the majority of them home it will be some improvement, because Bush left us in a frenzy.”
Age: 43
Hometown: Brooklyn
“My personal opinion is, I think it would be premature to pull the troops out immediately just like that. We all know that never works but I like the plan; sometimes you have to adjust.”
With the recent news of President Obama planning to leave 45,000 to 50,000 troops behind in Iraq as part of his 2010 withdrawal strategy, ESSENCE.com hit the streets of New York City to find out what’s on the minds of everyday Americans. Keep clicking to read what these Americans had to say about our President’s decision.
By: Chinyere Osuala and Jenisha Watts
