“At a December 13 [2009] regional security conference hosted by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, [Central Command leader General David] Petraeus gave his interpretation of [President Barack] Obama’s [December 1] West Point speech. He noted, ‘In July 2011, we will begin–and I stress the word begin–to draw down our forces [in Afghanistan] in the process whose pace depends on the security conditions on the ground. …This does not mean we will *race for the exits* in 2011–far from it.’ ”
– Bob Woodward, Obama’s Wars, Page 337