Once again, an Obama adviser comes out with advice contrary to the campaign's official position, raising the questions: Does Obama just appoint "advisers" for their marquee value, and not listen to them at all? Does he listen and ignore? Or are his advisers so mercurial that they change their opinions without notice?

Colin Kahl coordinates Obama's "working group" on Iraq, and recommends keeping a force of 60-80,000 US troops in Iraq through 2010 or later, reports Eli Lake for the New York Sun:

The paper, obtained by The New York Sun, was written by Colin Kahl for the center-left Center for a New American Security. In "Stay on Success: A Policy of Conditional Engagement," Mr. Kahl writes that through negotiations with the Iraqi government "the U.S. should aim to transition to a sustainable over-watch posture (of perhaps 60,000-80,000 forces) by the end of 2010 (although the specific timelines should be the byproduct of negotiations and conditions on the ground)."

Mr. Kahl is the day-to-day coordinator of the Obama campaign's working group on Iraq. A shorter and less detailed version of this paper appeared on the center's Web site as a policy brief.

Both Mr. Kahl and a senior Obama campaign adviser reached yesterday said the paper does not represent the campaign's Iraq position. Nonetheless, the paper could provide clues as to the ultimate size of the residual American force the candidate has said would remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of combat brigades. The campaign has not publicly discussed the size of such a force in the past.

Read the entire article at the link above. Of course, Obama's whole foreign policy is incoherent gibberish - platitudes and vague evasions like the rest of his campaign. But this is NOT what his wacko base of anti-war nutroots wants to hear.

Oddly enough, every time there is a conflict between Obama and his advisers, the adviser has been offering more sensible policy prescriptions than the candidate will tolerate. To wit:

1. When chief economic adviser Austan Goolsbee assured the Canadian government that Obama was only spouting anti-NAFTA rhetoric for political purposes, the campaign first denied the meeting had occurred, then claimed Goolsbee had been "misquoted" (he hadn't been quoted at all) . . . yet it was Obama saying the stupid things which could damage relations with close and friendly governments.
2. Foreign policy adviser Samantha Powers told the BBC not to pay attention to Obama's "immediate withdrawal" song and dance, that we would likely be in Iraq a long time, she was forced to resign (under the cover of having called Hillary a "monster," which shocked no one) to keep the campaign myth alive.
3. Foreign policy and terrorism adviser John Brennan told an interviewer that legal immunity for the telecom companies for past compliance with the government was necessary, and that he favored the Senate FISA bill which included it. Obama had already voted against the bill.
4. Now Kahl again offers a more sensible approach to Iraq. What gives here?