Obama was perplexed that his statement on Iraq was dissected as it was.
“I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought
was a pretty innocuous statement,” he said. “I am absolutely committed to ending
the war.”On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that “I’ll …
continue to refine my policy” on Iraq after an upcoming trip there.
Democrats have long been promising to “End the War in Iraq Now!”, telling their moveon-dot-org constituency one thing, while attempting to legislate surrender bills that say something a lot more nuanced. Representative Paul Kanjorski was caught admitting that Democrats lied for political power:
I’ll tell you my impression. We really in this last election … when I say we… the Democrats, I think pushed it as far as we can to the end of the … we didn’t say it, but we implied it … that if we won the congressional elections, we could stop the war.
Now anybody who was a good student of government would know that wasn’t true. But you know, the temptation to want to win back the congress, so you sort of stretched the facts … and people ate it up.
Democratic Presidential Candidate of Hope and Change, Barack Obama, himself might keep 80,000 troops in Iraq for 100 years.
More snake oil from the Obamassiah:
“The tactics of how we ensure our troops are safe as we pull out, how we execute
the withdrawal, those are things that are all based on facts and conditions,” he
said. “I am not somebody _ unlike George Bush _ who is willing to ignore facts
on the basis of my preconceived notions.”
That is simply political partisanship rubbish. The reason why Senator Clinton and Senator Obama would basically carry on “the Bush Plan”, is because no serious American leader who takes a sober look at the situation from the Oval Office, is going to realistically and responsibly “bring the troops home now”. When he talks of how he’d end the war by consulting with military commanders and utilizing flexibility based upon the situation on the ground, he’s basically adopting what has already been going on. Just replace the (R) with the (D), then take credit for the success of the surge, the full blossoming results of which will not happen under George W. Bush’s watch.
Tom Hayden- one Democrat not fooled- at Huffington Post:
Call him slippery or nuanced, Barack Obama’s core position on Iraq has always been more ambiguous than audacious. Now it is catching up with him as his latest remarks are questioned by the Republicans, the mainstream media, and the antiwar movement. He could put his candidacy at risk if his audacity continues to shrivel.
~~~
the issue that matters most to me is achieving a peaceful settlement of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
From the beginning, Obama’s symbolic 2002 position on Iraq has been very promising, reinforced again and again by his campaign pledge to “end the war” in
2009.But that pledge also has been laced with loopholes all along, caveats that the mainstream media and his opponents [excepting Bill Richardson] have ignored or avoided until now. As I pointed out in Ending the War in Iraq [2007], Obama’s 2002 speech opposed the coming war with Iraq as “dumb”, while avoiding what position he would take once the war was underway. Then he wrote of almost changing his position from anti- to pro-war after a trip to Iraq. He never took as forthright a position as Senator Russ Feingold, among others. Then he adopted the safe, nonpartisan formula of the Baker-Hamilton Study Group, which advocated the withdrawal of combat troops while leaving thousands of American counter-terrorism units, advisers and trainers behind.
That would mean at least 50,000 Americans, including back up forces, engaged in
counter-insurgency after the withdrawal of combat troops, a contradiction the media and Hillary Clinton failed to explore in the primary debates. To his credit, Obama said that these American units would not become caught up in a lengthy sectarian civil war, leaving the question of their role unanswered.The most shocking aspect of Samantha Powers’ forced resignation earlier this year was not that she called Hillary Clinton a “monster” off-camera, but that she flatly stated that Obama would review his whole position on Iraq once becoming president. Again, no one in the media or rival campaigns questioned whether this assertion by Powers was true. Since Obama credited Powers with helping for months in writing his book, The Audacity of Hope, her comments on his inner thinking should have been pounced upon by the pundits.
Finally, it has taken the pressure of the general election to raise questions about whether his parsed and lawyerly language is empty of credible meaning. Consider carefully his July 4 statements:
The first one, promising a “thorough reassessment” of his Iraq position later this summer:
“I’ve always said that the pace of our withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability” — two conditions that could justify leaving American troops in combat indefinitely. “And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies” — another loophole which could allow the war to drag on.
Then there came the later “clarification”:
“Let me be as clear as I can be” [not, “let me be absolutely clear”].
“I intend to end this war.” [intention only].
“My first day in office I will bring the Joint Chiefs of Staff in, and I will give them a new mission, and that is to end this war — responsibly, deliberately, but decisively.” [ Sounds positive, but “decisively” can mean by military threat in the worst case. And it’s pure theatre, borrowed from Clinton, since the plans most likely will be drafted and finalized immediately after the November election.]
“And I have seen no information that contradicts the notion that we can bring our troops out safely at a pace of one or two brigades a month…” [but what if the military commanders on the ground assert that it is too dangerous to pull out those troops?]
Obama’s position, which always left a trail of unasked questions, now plants a seed of doubt, justifiably, among the peace bloc of American voters who harbor a legacy of betrayals beginning with Lyndon Johnson’s 1064 pledge of “no wider war” through Richard Nixon’s “secret plan for peace” to Ronald Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal and the deep complicity of Democrats in the evolution of the Iraq War.
It is difficult to understand Obama’s motivation. Perhaps it is his lifetime success at straddling positions and disarming potential opponents. Perhaps it is a lawyer’s training. Perhaps being surrounded by national security advisers who oppose what they call “precipitous withdrawal”, and pragmatic Democrats distinctly uncomfortable with their antiwar roots.
And in case anti-war voters are experiencing “voter’s remorse”, what makes them think that the wife of Monica Lewinsky’s boyfriend would have actually ended the war immediately?
An Obama or Clinton Administration- any administration- would more than likely reap the rewards of the surge groundwork laid out under the final 2 years of the Bush presidency.
The pro-peace pragmatists are not in the anti-war movement of Moveon dot orgers and Code Pink. Peace movement = Pro-Victory Movement.
Hat tip to Scott for the Tom Hayden piece.
Further Reads (Scott Malensek):
The Democratic Party is a bunch of Chicken Doves
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
The only agent of PEACE with JUSTICE is the U.S. military.
And the pro-VICTORY movement that supports them is the best agent for making sure that as bad as war is, it is concluded quickly and at the lowest cost in money and human life.
The anti-war “peace” crowd only seeks an end to armed conflicts in which the United States is involved. What they fail to realize is that the absence of armed conflict is not peace. They care little for the millions who suffer from oppression an death far worse than caused by the armed conflict which may be necessary to restore peace with justice.
P.S. It’s clear that the Obamatons will vote for him regardless of his flip flops on Iraq. Bu will they still give the money Obama needs?
Hah! Check this out: Al Jazeera: “Obama’s Muslim Identity Can End the Iraq War”
Uh Oh Word.
Dave Noble will be around soon to accuse you of participating in a “whisper campaign” because you cited a source that identifies Obama as a Muslim.
Lied for political power? No way. You mean Democraps lie, who knew?
Perhaps had he already been there he would see what it is like on the ground…
Peace and Justice??!! Are you kidding? We are talking about a dirty Chicago pol. The war will not end bec Obama’s handlers will have the money faucet at their hands now. Dick Cheney and Haliburton just had the wrong marketing scheme…..
Amen Mike…..thank God for the military!
dems are the party of cut and run and surrender.
obama the dem:
no brains, no balls, nobama
..
Obama has Islam in his heritages as I have Protestantism in mine, but I’m Roman Catholic. So? Muslims seem more at peace with Obama’s past affiliation with Islam, which wasn’t his choice, than many Conservatives.
Obama does have a Muslim identity, but he is not a Muslim. I don’t think he’s a Christian, either, or at least not a very good one.
President Obama has said he wants to pull out 1-2 brigades a month. He’ll go with the Petraeus/Gates suggestion of 1 every other month until X date, then another review w the intent of pullout out 1-2 brigades a month in the summer 09 leaving just enough forces in Iraq to:
-train ISF
-fight AQ
-protect Americans
-deter bordering enemies
Rest will be in Kuwait, etc as rapid reaction forces.
ie, no big change/likely identical to McCain plan so as to take Iraq off the table and focus on issues O’s better with.
It’s very unlikely to happen, although it’d be good if it did:
Maliki is faced with Sadrist nationalists biting at this heels, the public is worn out with an American presence, Parliament has favored and still favors a withdrawal, and to top it all off, Maliki and his staff have been making claims over the past year that their Iraqi Army and police are in the pipline and Americans can “leave any time they want”.
On the other side of the equation, Obama still states on his website, in the ‘Iraq’ section, “We must send a clear signal to the Iraqi political leadership that we are leaving Iraq on a timeline.” And if Obama wins in November, that mandate will be central for his win and thus he’ll do some kind of timeline.
Finally, if Obama continues to advocate a timeline –and he will– and Maliki really means what he says about a timeline (which I doubt) one has to wonder if Bush might be willing to ‘barter’ with one with Maliki.
Think about it: If Maliki really means what he says, Bush and him can gain something politically: In Iraq, Maliki would be helping his election and party chances down the road and in 2009, and in the US, Bush would be helping GOP chances this fall.
However, in the end, all this is probably just political maneuvering for greatest advantage in an agreement … and that’s too bad.
WHA?!
Political maneuvering and Iraq in the same sentence?
Impossible
McCain in 2004:
Now that the prospects of there being a timetable have been introduced (out of the mouth of Maliki and his staff) in the details of a ‘security “agreement”‘, will someone in the press corps. please ask this question to McCain again.
Today Maliki stepped away from yesterday’s ‘may not’ to a “would not”:
Wow! This is a bombshell. It’s not a possibility anymore, it’s reality; and it was made in Najaf, Sistani’s domain. …Maliki’s transitioning towards Obama’s position and away from Bush’s.
I guess the reality of his cousins’ death has started to sink in.
Unbelievable. Where’s my wine glass?
This may be it. Either this is some serious-ass hardball political theater (with Sistani thrown in for counter-balance) or they are breaking with Bush.
Reflecting off of posts 13-15, with all the developments today in Iraq, the unfolding drama of the US-Iraq security arrangement, and McCain’s stance of no ‘time-tables’ and a continued large troop and base presence, I believe now much more this evening, than this morning, there is now a ‘perceptual’ reason to propose a difference in kind, not in degree, how the two parties understand the American troop presence as practically dissimilar: Maliki, his staff, religious leaders, and the public all see the presence as treading on national sovereignty and that a timeline does not “play[] right into the terrorists’ hands”; while McCain, Bush and cohorts, have, practically speaking, a polar opposite view –as of today– finding the troop presence as a necessity and “that setting a timeline would plays right into terrorists’ hands”.
This “degree” of difference has never been so great; which is why now it is a difference of kind, of identity. No longer are the two parties looking at the same object, where they can frame a compromising position on the same entity: Iraq …no longer can there be one Iraq for them. Iraq is now two; one for Bush, the other for the Iraqis. Sharing is now, it appears, supremely difficult, next to or at impossible.
This difference in the identity of Iraq, of what constitutes Iraq, how Iraq is perceived by its present powers, now MUST be a weight on the mind of any thoughtful press agent with the courage — and opportunity — to ask McCain regarding the news coming from Maliki and staff that he is leaning towards a security pact with the U.S. that would include language describing the “departure of [American] forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal,” that will have “specific dates”.
Therefore, given the events today, there is a real possibility McCain will get this ‘perceptual’ question posed in post 13!
If that happens will the McCain of 2008 be same McCain of 2004?