Posted on 07/13/2008 11:17:30 AM PDT by blogsforthompson.com
The verbal gymnastics of Barack Obama and his surrogates on Iraq is just mind-numbing! Today on Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw zeroed in on Obama surrogate Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and clearly demonstrated how contorted Obama's shifting positions on an Iraq Withdrawal have become. Listen to this exchange . . . (see video)
You can tell that Brokaw is disbelieving of the fact that Obama is actually continuing to say pompously that he will "call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff on his first day in office" and "give them a new mission." That mission being - Get our troops out in 16 months, even while he prepares for a trip to Iraq to supposedly "listen to our commanders on the ground."
So, let me get this straight - He's going to listen to the commanders on the ground in Iraq later this month, and then do what he wants to do in January 2009 as President, irrespective of their advice. Niiiice! That's the kind of Commander-in-Chief we need!
(Excerpt) Read more at freedomslighthouse.com ...
The whole idea of an Obammi presidency is laughable......look out.
I, for one, hopes he gets them out much sooner. That would free up our Arabic translators for duty in Afghanistan.....after, of course, we teach the Afghanis to speak Arabic.
So sit down, shut up, and vote for him already.
/s
BWAHAHAHA! So “16 months” is now “a goal”, not a “promise to the American people”.
Just wondering: why set any time limit before you meet with the military, if you know you’ll only be able to set a time limit based on THEIR recommendations?
Oh, but he’s a different type of politician.
Obama today on CNN....
ZAKARIA: And we’re back with Senator Obama.
You’ve also said that the chief beneficiary of the Iraq war has been Iran, which now poses a significant strategic threat to, or challenge to, the United States in the region.
If we were to leave Iraq entirely, would that not cede the field to them and allow Iran to consolidate its gains in the region and in the country?
OBAMA: I don’t think so. Look, first of all, I have never talked about leaving the field entirely. What I’ve said is that we would get our combat troops out of Iraq, that we would not have permanent bases in Iraq.
I’ve talked about maintaining a residual force there to ensure that al Qaeda does not reform in Iraq, that we’re making sure that we are providing logistical support and potential training to Iraqi forces — so long as we’re not training sectarian armies that are then fighting each other — to protect our diplomats, to protect humanitarian efforts in the region.
So, nobody’s talking about abandoning the field.
ZAKARIA: That might be a large force.
OBAMA: Well, it — you know, I’m going to make sure that we determine, based on conditions on the ground, how we effectively carry out those limited, temporary missions.
But what is going to prevent Iran from having significant influence inside of Iraq — or at least, so much influence that Iraq is not functioning — is to make sure that the government has stood up, that it has capacity, that the Shia, the Sunni, the Kurds have come to the sort of political accommodation that allows them to divide oil revenues that are now coming in quite handsomely, that ensures that, in fact, we’re serious about ending corruption in some of the ministries, that provincial federalist approaches to governance are being observed.
The stronger the Iraqi government is on its own — not with us, but on its own — the less likely that Iran is going to exert its influence.
And again, this is — you know this better than I do, Fareed — the assumption that, because many in Iraq are Shia, that they automatically are going to align themselves with Iran, ignores the fact that you’ve got Arab and Persian cultures that are very different. And there’s — if Iraqi Shias feel that their government is actually functioning, then I think their identity as Iraqis reasserts itself.
If, on the other hand, the perception is that the government in Iraq is just an extension of the U.S. government, then sympathies for the kind of mischief that Iran has been engaged in may increase.
Now, the last point I would make on this is, this is going to be a messy affair. There’s no elegant and easy solutions to what I believe has been an enormous strategic blunder by this administration.
We’re going to have to work our way through it. There are going to be — there’s going to be progress in some areas. There is going to be slippage in others.
What we do have to make certain of is that, by creating a phased withdrawal in Iraq, that we are mounting the sort of diplomacy and reaching out to our allies in ways that actually strengthen our ability to isolate Iran, if it continues to pursue what are unacceptable foreign policy decisions by their leadership.
ZAKARIA: But you could imagine a situation where, if the Iraqi government wanted it, 30,000 American troops are still in Iraq 10 years from now.
OBAMA: You know, I have been very careful not to put numbers on what a residual force would look like. What I am absolutely convinced of is that, to maintain permanent bases, to have ongoing combat forces, to have an open-ended commitment of the sort that John McCain and George Bush have advocated, is a mistake. It is a strategic mistake.
It weakens our ability to go after al Qaeda in Afghanistan. It continues to fan anti-American sentiment. I think it allows Iran to more effectively engage in mischief in the region. And it prevents us from isolating them and making clear to the world that they are the authors of their own isolation by their behavior.
Those costs cannot be borne. And that’s before we even start talking about the hundreds of billions of dollars and American lives that are lost or profoundly disrupted as a consequence of this engagement.
he will “call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff on his first day in office” and “give them a new mission
This idiot doesn’t even know that the mission of the JCS is not starting or stopping wars. Those decisions are implemented by the various CINCs that Obama doesn’t talk to. This light weight does not know the military structure and he want to be the Commander in Chief. Start looking for land in Canada.
WOW!
He really doesn’t have a freaking clue, does he?
God help our brave soldiers if he ends up as Commander in Chief!
Obama...”Look, first of all, I have never talked about leaving the field entirely. What I’ve said is that we would get our combat troops out of Iraq....”
must be be a constant buttpucker to have to walk such a fine line and avoid questions - to keep your big tent party together
i don't know how both parties got stuck with their nominees - seems neither is happy
His plan is to leave just small enough a force so as to be overrun, killed and/or captured!
This guy is insane!!!
Nuts!
Is it just me or does the term “residual force” seem to mean “outmanned sacrificial lambs” in Obamaland?
Recalculating!
In 500 feet turn left then turn left.
Yes We Can! Screw everything up!
I guess. I suppose that leaving some “residual”, “non-combat”
troops on the ground in the “region” appears to be a sound strategy.......NOT!
Good grief!
Has this country really come to the point where we would consider electing a Marxist know nothing to the most powerful office in the world?
Heaven help us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing.
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