 They discussed how to curb a resurgent al-Qaeda and how to more thoroughly incorporate democracy in the country.President Obama changed the timeline of withdrawing troops from Iraq within 16 months of his taking office as outlined in the election to 19 months after taking office.Obama appointed several Special Envoys including a Special Envoy for Middle East peace (George Mitchell) and a Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan (Richard C. Holbrooke).