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The Obama Nation
Obama Tried to Stall Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
Barack Obama has been campaigning on a quick troop withdrawal from Iraq, but behind the scenes he’s working against that plan, according to the New York Post.
WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.
“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview.
Obama first, troops last.
Barack Obama Flip Flops
Barack Obama has been in Hawaii for the past week, and he definitely remembered to pack the flip flops.
I came across an entertaining recap of some of Obama’s recent flip flops.
While Obama has been ranked as the most liberal Senator, he’s been feverishly moving towards the center to play the same old politics and appeal to the biggest crowd possible.
Some of his conflicting positions have been whether or not Obama is going to bring home the troops in 2009, gun restrictions, faith-based initiatives, and the FISA bill.
Iraq Leader Maliki Doesn’t Support Obama’s Withdrawal Plans
German magazine Spiegel published a quote that indicated Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki thought Barack Obama’s 16 month time frame for a withdrawal from Iraq is the right one.
However, a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks “were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately,” according to CNN.com.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.
So, despite the excited reports by the mainstream media that Maliki is on the same page as Obama, he’s actually in line with the John McCain strategy.
Obama on Iraq
There is a new video that chronicles the numerous flip-flops that Barack Obama has made on Iraq.
It’s starling how he has contradicted himself on the firm positions he held to secure the primary.
Will Obama Acknowledge the Yellowcake Uranium?
Back on November 22, 2005, Barack Obama gave a speech at the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations about the Bush administration claims that Iraq wanted to acquire yellowcake uranium for use with nuclear weapons.
“The President told the American people about Iraqi attempts to acquire yellow cake during the State of the Union. The Vice-President made statements on national television expressing certainty about Iraq’s nuclear weapons programs. Secretary Rice used the words “mushroom cloud” over and over again.
We know now that even at the time these unequivocal statements were made, intelligence assessments existed that contradicted these claims. Analysis from the CIA and State Department was summarily dismissed when it did not help the Administration make the case for war.”
Well, it’s been a week since the AP broke the news, “US removes uranium from Iraq,” but I can’t seem to find a mea culpa from Obama in the media.
According to the AP story…
“The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” - the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment - was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.”
Pretty significant in light of Obama’s comment back then.
If Barack would simply admit he was wrong, that would be some change I could believe in.
U.S. Commanders say ‘No Way’ to Obama’s Iraq Withdrawal Plan
Barack Obama tapped into a strong anti-war sentiment and picked up lots of votes by touting his Iraq withdrawal strategy, where he would “immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months.”
That idea played well in the Democratic primaries, but with the U.S. Commanders in Iraq? Not so much.
ABC News spoke with Major General Jeffery Hammond, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which is responsible for Baghdad, and likely one of the military heads Obama will visit when he goes to Iraq.
Major General Hammond had this to say about drawing down two combat brigades a month…
“We still have a ways to go. Number one, we’re working on security and it’s very encouraging, that’s true, but what we’re really trying to achieve here is sustainable security on Iraqi terms. So, I think my first response to that would be let’s look at the conditions.
Instead of any time-based approach to any decision for withdrawal, it’s got to be conditions-based, with the starting point being an intelligence analysis of what might be here today, and what might lie ahead in the future. I still think we still have work that remains to be done before I can really answer that question.”
And the perspective of Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, operational commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq regarding Obama’s stated plan to bring home the troops within 16 months?
“I’d have to see the entire plan. I’d have to understand the strategic objectives of the leadership, and based on those strategic objectives, come up with operational objectives. It’s very difficult to comment on one way or the other, whether one plan would work or one plan wouldn’t work. Right now, we are helping the Iraqis achieve sustainable security, and helping them to increase the capability of the Iraqi security forces, and we are making great progress along those lines.”
As far as logistics, several commanders who spoke with ABC News stated there was “no way” it could work.
Hopefully, the voters that were romanced by hope and change will examine the other promises of Obama that have no way of working.
Freedom of Flip Flop
Remember that Barack Obama who ran hard during the Democratic primary with the commitment to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq over 16-months?
Well, he’s thinking about “refining” that plan.
When he makes a Mideast trip this summer, he says “I am going to do a thorough assessment when I’m there.”
So now that he’s starting to learn more about what’s happening in Iraq, he might be changing his 16-month troop withdrawal timetable?
He went on to say, “I’m sure I’ll have more information and continue to refine my policy” and that he is going to “continue to gather information to see whether those conditions still hold” for withdrawing the troops within 16 months.
It’s almost as if he didn’t examine the issue previously. Can the country afford to have somebody who is so behind on the learning curve?
Not to mention, is there any issue where Obama hasn’t flip flopped, yet?
When Did Obama Turn Against the War?
Barack Obama states his plan for ending the war in Iraq on his official site, from a speech he gave in Iowa on September 12, 2007
But is that a relatively new position (i.e. flip flop)?
I spoke out against what I called ‘a rash war’ in Iraq. I worried about, ‘an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.’
However, back on April 5, 2004, Obama said…
“I’ve never said troops should be withdrawn. What I’ve said is that we have to be sure that we secure and execute the rebuilding and reconstruction process effectively and properly.
And I don’t think we should have an artificial deadline when to do that.“
Oh really now?
John McCain and 100 Years of War in Iraq
The Democrat machine and their 527 group surrogates has been perpetuation the myth that Senator McCain favors 100 more years of war in Iraq.
It makes for an impactful soundbite, but it’s not true.
Obama claims to want to run on a platform of change and taking the high road, but his campaign is doing just the opposite.
When confronted about the often repeated lie by Today show host Meredith Vieira, Obama exclaimed, “That’s just not accurate, Meredith. We can pull up the quotes on YouTube.”
Have a look at a couple of his “quotes on YouTube“:
“He (McCain) is willing to send our troops into another hundred years of war in Iraq.”
“We are bogged down in a war that John McCain now suggests might go on for another hundred years.”
Here is the full text of the exchange.
QUESTIONER: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years…
McCAIN: Maybe 100. We’ve been in South Korea… We’ve been in Japan for 60 years, we’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That’d be fine with me, as long as Americans… as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. It’s fine with me, I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al Qaeda is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day.
Funny how Obama and company have omitted the “as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed” part.
Actually, that’s not funny. It’s sadly business as usual for the Obama campaign.
Judge Dismisses Charges in Haditha Killings Case
Yesterday, a military judge said the poor judgment of a prominent general prompted him to dismiss all charges against the highest-ranking Marine who was being court-martialed in the killing of civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
The hearing in a courtroom at Camp Pendleton for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani follows a succession of other Marines who were charged with trying to cover up killings of Iraqis.
The witch hunt of thee Marines was given force stateside by former Marine and Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha.
When Barack Obama was asked about the situation, he stated “I would never second guess John Murtha… I think he’s somebody who knows of which he speaks.”
I wonder if Murtha and Obama will race out to apologize?
