WingRight

Powerline has an excellent dissection of Obama’s New York Times op-ed about Iraq.

Obama admits that he opposed the surge, and the attendant change in strategy and tactics, that have brought us close to victory. But he somehow manages to twist his being wrong about the surge–the major foreign policy issue that has arisen during his time in Congress–into vindication:

But the same factors that led me to oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200 billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.

Actually, however, Obama opposed the surge not because of those “factors” but because he thought it would fail. He said, on January 10, 2007, on MSNBC:

I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy, Iraq, Liberal Hypocrisy, Obama by Publius
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The Obama is feeling a little political squeeze on Iraq. In order to get the leftroots into his camp, he swore he would get US troops out of Iraq in 2009. Lately, he’s been backing away from that position.

From Google News:

After months vowing to get US troops home from Iraq, Barack Obama has succumbed to the war’s political entanglements, struggling to explain his plan in the light of recent security gains. . . .
Obama is torn between a vow to end the war, which underpinned his win over Democratic foe Hillary Clinton and Republican claims his plan invites US humiliation, would delight terrorists and waste gains bought in American blood. . . .
Under rising Republican pressure, Obama on Thursday said he may “refine” his policies after meeting US commanders in Iraq on a trip expected this month.

But hours later, he hurriedly called a second press conference to insist he had not made the “flip flop” on Iraq that many observers are expecting, as he retools his message for the political center ground.

“I have seen no information that contradicts the notion that we can bring our troops out safely at a pace of one to two brigades per month,” a frustrated Obama said.

He’s not a hawk, but he’s sure a politician.

Tags: Iraq by Publius
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