Posted on 09/15/2008 2:03:51 AM PDT by Enchante
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 insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
When a man named Al Capone,
Tried to make that town his own,
And he called his gang to war,
With the forces of the law.
I heard my mama cry.
I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Glory be.
The left is even demanding now that Obama make an official denial of this charge....LOL
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/please-barack-say-its-non_b_126585.html#comments
They closed all comments for this article at Huffington Post.
Things must be getting pretty heated over there...BWAHHAHAHA!
ping
Can you direct me to the denial?
Sorry, it's a long thread and I don't have an hour to read it. (Although I will later!)
This is the only place that I have seen anything related to Barry’s denial:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_campaign_contests_Taheri_column.html?showall
Obama campaign contests Taheri column:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_campaign_contests_Taheri_column.html?showall
Nice tagline and so stolen!
“Before getting all riled up, the reporter, Taheri, has produced many questionable stories in the past. A number of times his stories turned out to be outright fabrications.”
Yup. Thats what I`m afraid of. Also, considering the Iraqi govt. may have to deal with an Obama Presidency, they could simply deny everything Taheri has said because they would`nt want a pissed off Obama administration to deal with.
A fairly lame denial, craftily designed to confuse.
Someone needs to pound the hell out of this and see what evidence squirts out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082500771.html
Maliki Demands All U.S. Troops Pull Out by 2011 - Iraqi Leader Pushes Hard on Accord
Washington Post, The (DC) - August 26, 2008
Author: Amit R. Paley, Washington Post Foreign Service
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2011 as he embarked Monday on an attempt to win support among Iraqi leaders for a draft security accord with the United States.
Maliki’s comments appeared to be an attempt to extract further concessions from American officials, less than a week after both sides said they had agreed to remove all U.S. combat troops by the end of 2011, if the security situation remained relatively stable, but leave other American forces in place. The U.S. plan is to leave as many as 40,000 troops to continue to assist Iraq in training, logistics and intelligence for an undefined period.
Speaking before a gathering of tribal leaders in the heavily fortified Green Zone, Maliki said for the first time that the United States had agreed to withdraw all troops — not just combat brigades — as part of a security accord governing U.S. forces in Iraq, and that the withdrawal schedule must be firm. But American officials said no accord had been reached and insisted that any withdrawal be based on conditions at the time.
“There is an agreement between both sides that no foreign soldiers will be in Iraq after 2011,” Maliki said. He added that the accord “must be based on a specific deadline for the withdrawal of foreign forces and that it should not be open.”
His remarks are likely to complicate the debate in the U.S. presidential campaign over how best to conduct an American military pullout from Iraq. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has opposed a firm timeline for withdrawal but suggested that troops be out of Iraq by 2013. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, has called for U.S. combat troops to leave by mid-2010.
Maliki and U.S. officials cautioned that differences remained over the complex accord, known as a status-of-forces agreement, and that talks were continuing.
“An agreement has not been signed, and so from our perspective, there is no agreement until there’s an agreement signed,” said Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman. “But any decisions on troops will be based on the conditions on the ground in Iraq. That has always been our position; it continues to be our position.”
U.S. officials, however, have signaled willingness to compromise with Maliki’s government in order to sign an agreement by the end of President Bush’s term. There is additional pressure because the United Nations’ authorization for American troops to remain in Iraq expires at the end of the year; if no accord is signed before then, U.S. troops will have no legal basis to remain in the country.
(snip)
Obama camp denial. They are blaming the Iraqi for misunderstanding BO. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_campaign_contests_Taheri_column.html?showall
THE SCHNITT SHOW (syndicated from Tampa) covering now. Call letters: 970 WFLA AM. The station is right by MacDill AFB a/k/a Cent Command.
re: lame denial
Yeah, this doesn’t cut it at all, at least so far as what is reproduced in Politico!!
This is merely what is called a “non-denial denial” as Clintonista watchers will remember so well.
The Obama hack did NOT deny anything specific to conversations in Iraq in July 2008, and possible pressures exerted by Obama (or other back channels), etc. All the flack/hack asserts is a broader point about Obama’s supposed consistency of strategic view. The flack seems very careful not to deny certain specifics.....
There is definitely smoke here..... is there also FIRE?
ROFL! That would explain it! ;^)
I wonder if BO talked to Maliki as well.
War Zones on the Itinerary
New York Times, The (NY) - June 17, 2008
Author: JEFF ZELENY
It’s not just battleground states on the itinerary for the presidential
candidates. Senator Barack Obama said Monday that he also intended to visit Iraq
and Afghanistan before the November election.
One day after Senator John McCain met with Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar
Zebari , Mr. Obama spoke to Mr. Zebari by telephone. Mr. Obama said he was
“encouraged” by reductions in violence in Iraq, but added that the United States
should withdraw troops at a pace of one to two brigades a month, with a goal of
removing most combat troops in 16 months.
“We have no interest in permanent bases in Iraq,” Mr. Obama said.
Among the issues being discussed between Mr. Zebari and the presidential
candidates is a long-term security accord between Iraq and the United States.
While the Bush administration would like to see an agreement reached by
midsummer, Mr. Obama said he opposed such a swift timetable.
“My concern is that the Bush administration, in a weakened state politically,
ends up trying to rush an agreement that in some ways might be binding to the
next administration,” Mr. Obama said, “whether it’s my administration or Senator
McCain’s administration.”
Mr. Obama , who has not been to Iraq for more than two years, said last month
that he would like to visit. After speaking to Mr. Zebari , he sounded more
definitive, saying, “I told him that I look forward to seeing him in Baghdad.”
Mr. McCain has invited Mr. Obama to take a joint trip to Iraq, a gesture that
Mr. Obama dismissed as a political stunt. Alex Conant, a Republican Party
spokesman, said it had been nearly 900 days since Mr. Obama visited, in January
2006.
Mr. Obama did not say Monday when he would be going, but said it would be
“before the election.”
JEFF ZELENY
Edition: Late Edition - Final
Section: National Desk
Page: 19
Page Column: 0
Page Subsection: A
Column: TRAVEL PLANS
Record Number: 2008-06-17-320854
He’s a traitor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.