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Obama plans first meeting with Joint Chiefs

Barack Obama’s busy first full day in the White House will include a meeting with the nation’s top military officer, a senior defense official confirmed Monday.

And while the agenda is still being finalized for the new president’s Wednesday meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, ending the war in Iraq is atop the list.

In the presidential campaign, Obama said he would bring in the Joint Chiefs on his first day in office and give them the mission to end the war “responsibly and deliberately, but decisively.”

Incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed that Obama would do so during a Jan. 18 appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” And while the senior defense official said the full list of attendees is still being worked out, Gibbs’ assertion would mean Obama would simultaneously issue the order to all members of the Joint Chiefs — the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, as well as Mullen.

Obama has met with Mullen before — first just after the election, when Mullen traveled to Obama’s Chicago transition office for a get-to-know-you meeting, and then in subsequent conversations with his national security team.

While the staggering economy and an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent is likely to take up much, if not most, of Obama’s first week in office, an order to end the Iraq war likely will not be the only national security issue splash he makes during his first week.

He is widely expected to order the closure of the controversial detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and officials say he’s likely to give the order soon. Actually shuttering the base will take far longer, as officials must decide how to deal with the roughly 250 detainees still in custody at Guantanamo — another likely topic for the Joint Chiefs meeting.

Obama also probably will sound out the Joint Chiefs on the way forward in Afghanistan, where he has promised to refocus U.S. efforts in the fight against terrorism by beefing up troop strength. Currently, about 32,000 U.S. troops are serving there.