Posted on 09/15/2008 2:06:48 PM PDT by Plutarch
Barack Obamas campaign denied a New York Post report Monday that said the Democratic presidential candidate privately tried to persuade Iraqi political leaders to stall an agreement on scaling back American troops in Iraq while publicly campaigning for a speedy withdrawal.
Obamas request for a delay was a major theme of his talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview with the Post.
Obama also tried to persuade the U.S. commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to offer a realistic withdrawal date, the Post reported. The commanders declined, the newspaper said.
A top foreign policy adviser to Obama sat in on the meetings between the candidate and Iraqi officials this summer and said no such conversations occurred, the campaign said Monday.
Obama has said he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq as rapidly as possible, and while the U.S. negotiates a Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq, Obama wants that brought to Congress.
According to the report in the Post, Obama said he wants the Bush administration excluded from the negotiations, given its state of weakness and political confusion.
[...excerpt]
(Excerpt) Read more at elections.foxnews.com ...
MRC President Brent Bozell is scheduled to appear tonight,
Monday, on the Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes at about 9:40 PM EDT (That’s 8:40 PM CDT, 7:40 PM MDT and 6:40 PM PDT.).
Do you think he’ll be asked about any of the important items of the last few days, or will they give him to Colmes for a fluff piece?
He wanted to delay *negotiations* until after the election. Obama’s offical response confirms it.
Look at McCain’s response to the news.
At this point, it is not yet clear what official American negotiations Senator Obama tried to undermine with Iraqi leaders, but the possibility of such actions is unprecedented. It should be concerning to all that he reportedly urged that the democratically-elected Iraqi government listen to him rather than the US administration in power. If news reports are accurate, this is an egregious act of political interference by a presidential candidate seeking political advantage overseas. Senator Obama needs to reveal what he said to Iraq’s Foreign Minister during their closed door meeting. The charge that he sought to delay the withdrawal of Americans from Iraq raises serious questions about Senator Obama’s judgment and it demands an explanation.
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.