troop withdrawal
From Johnmmcain.com
Statement Welcoming Barack Obama's "Entirely Conditions-Based" Iraq Withdrawal
ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, Randy Scheunemann, McCain 2008 senior foreign policy adviser, issued the following statement welcoming Barack Obama's latest shift to an "entirely conditions-based" withdrawal from Iraq:
"Today Barack Obama finally abandoned his dangerous insistence on an unconditional withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by making clear that for the foreseeable future, troop levels in Iraq will be 'entirely conditions based.' We welcome this latest shift in Senator Obama's position, but it is obvious that it was only a lack of experience and judgment that kept him from arriving at this position sooner.
"John McCain has always held the position that any withdrawal from Iraq must be based on conditions on the ground. With the incredible success of the surge, which John McCain advocated, it is increasingly likely that U.S. troops will be able to withdraw with victory in hand. John McCain had long urged Barack Obama, who opposed the surge, to return to Iraq in order to see the immense changes in the security situation there since his last visit. Now that Obama has finally met with General Petraeus, it appears that he has also come to the conclusion that troop levels in Iraq must be based on the conditions on the ground."
NEW TODAY: In An Interview With Newsweek, Barack Obama Says Future Troop Levels In Iraq Should Be "Entirely Conditions-Based." NEWSWEEK'S RICHARD WOLFFE: "You've been talking about those limited missions for a long time. Having gone there and talked to both diplomatic and military folks, do you have a clearer idea of how big a force you'd need to leave behind to fulfill all those functions?" BARACK OBAMA: "I do think that's entirely conditions-based. It's hard to anticipate where we may be six months from now, or a year from now, or a year and a half from now." (Richard Wolffe, "Obama's Sober Mood," Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/id/148986/output/print, 7/26/08) read more »
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Statement by the McCain Campaign
ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, McCain 2008 Senior Foreign Policy Advisor Randy Scheunemann issued the following statement:
"Barack Obama has said repeatedly that, if elected President, he would summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission: get all U.S. forces out of Iraq within 16 months, regardless of the conditions on the ground. Today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, the nation's highest ranking officer, made clear that he believes such an approach could be 'very dangerous.' Admiral Mullen further added that his view is shared by U.S. commanders in Iraq, who are 'adamant about continuing progress, about making decisions based on what's actually happening in the battle space.' Barack Obama says he wants a 'safe and responsible' withdrawal from Iraq, but is stubbornly adhering to an unconditional withdrawal that places politics above the advice of our military commanders, the success of our troops, and the security of the American people. Barack Obama is wrong to advocate withdrawal at any cost just as he was wrong to oppose the surge that has put victory within reach. It is a strategy for defeat, and it is the only strategy Barack Obama has ever supported."
Udate: Video of Mullen:Timetable for withdrawal is Dangerous
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Statement by John McCain on Recent Iraq Progress
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain issued the following statement on recent progress in Iraq:
"Progress between the United States and Iraq on a time horizon for American troop presence is further evidence that the surge has succeeded. Most of the U.S. forces used in the surge have already been withdrawn. When a further conditions-based withdrawal of U.S. forces is possible, it will be because we and our Iraqi partners built on the successes of the surge strategy, which Senator Obama opposed, predicted would fail, voted against and campaigned against in the primary. When we withdraw, we will withdraw with honor and victory. An honorable and victorious withdrawal would not be possible if Senator Obama's views had prevailed. An artificial timetable based on political expediency would have led to disaster and could still turn success into defeat. If we had followed Senator Obama's policy, Iraq would have descended into chaos, American casualties would be far higher, and the region would be destabilized."
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Here is a link to a great side-by-side graphic of how Obama changed his website over the weekend to reflect his changing opinions of Iraq. Now it seems that the surge is working. Before it was a huge failure.
Click here to see the comparison
HatTip: Johnmccain.com
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How many days will it be before we hear Obama describe his courageous arrival in to Iraq for the first time in over 900 days?
I assure you the description will include the words corkscrew landing.
Obama is scheduled to take a trip to Europe and the Middle East during the summer.
The Democratic National Convention starts on August 25th and runs thru the 28th. Obama is running out of time to visit Iraq.
I believe Obama's "surprise" visit will occur during his announced trip to Europe and the Middle East.It's understandable that the Secret Service would not want to telegraph the arrival of a presidential candidate in to a war zone.
Obama should have made the trip over the July 4th weekend so he could clarify his newest postion on Iraq. That would have been a great companion to his week of speeches on patriotism. Some are skeptical about those speeches.
The truth is Obama is saving his trip to Iraq so that he can bloviate about it at the convention. I can hear the soaring rhetoric as I write.
..."I landed in Iraq in a C130. We had to do what they call uhh uhh a corkscrew landing to make it difficult for the enemy to target the plane...etc"
It will culminate in a crescendo of patriotic adjectives about the virtues of our society and the need to make peace in the world. That will be followed by a kumbaya moment with Obama and his Veep.
The crowd will go bonkers,the baloons will drop(along with his poll numbers),the confetti will flutter down,the southerners will look for fried food and Obama will lose the election in a landslide to John McCain. :)
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McCain-obamaFrom McCain.com
Statement by McCain Campaign on Barack Obama's Iraq Comments Today
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following statement from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers concerning Barack Obama's remarks on Iraq:
"Since announcing his campaign in 2007, the central premise of Barack Obama's candidacy was his commitment to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq immediately. He campaigned in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the country reaffirming this pledge to the American people.
"Today, Barack Obama reversed that position proving once again that his words do not matter. He has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind when the facts on the ground dictate it. Indeed, the facts have changed because of the success of the surge that John McCain advocated for years and Barack Obama opposed in a position that put politics ahead of country.
"Now that Barack Obama has changed course and proven his past positions to be just empty words, we would like to congratulate him for accepting John McCain's principled stand on this critical national security issue. If he had visited Iraq sooner or actually had a one-on-one meeting with General Petraeus, he would have changed his position long ago."
McCain and TalabaniJohn McCain met with President Jalal Talabani of Iraq today but you might never know it from the news coverage. Talabani called McCain an old friend and said that progress is being made in Iraq.
The most significant part of the meeting involved Talabani saying that he thought US bases would be needed in Iraq for some time.
Talabani-
..."We are still in need to have American military presence in Iraq, and it must be decided by both governments of the United States and Iraq how much they will remain there."Talabani added: "In my personal opinion, we are in need to have some, at least some, military bases as a symbol for preventing" other countries from "interfering."
CBS ran this story about the meeting.
Also mentioned in the meeting was the Bush-Malaki Agreement which I posted about on 06/23. This is a critical vote for the Iraqi Government and the future of the US roll in Iraq.
This vote is scheduled for July but seems to be facing some hurdles.
Based on this story in the Financial Times ,I believe that Barack Obama will change his mind about withdrawing our troops from Iraq. His decision will be based on one principle. Political expediency. He will "Modify" his plan and mold it in to the most efficient model of assuring the most votes in November.
Apparently he has already started this process:
...Senior advisers to Mr Obama say the campaign is constantly monitoring and debating its response to the situation on the ground in Iraq. But they say that Mr Obama has no plans to modify his timetable for US troop withdrawal. However, Mr Obama and some of his most senior foreign policy advisers have been dropping tantalising hints that there might be a new flexibility over their definition of “withdrawal”...
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Apparently it depends on the definition of withdrawal!
..."Mr Obama frequently points out that he will consult US commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government about his withdrawal plans. “We have a great deal of flexibility about the modalities of the withdrawal but we are clear that it will take place under an Obama administration,” said a senior Obama adviser.
In practice, say analysts, that leaves a lot of leeway for interpretation..."
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Modalities of the withdrawal?
Nothing like giving yourself the Grand Canyon of possible alternatives to making a decision.
The fact is Obama has no idea of how he will handle Iraq or even Iran for that matter. Even his advisors seem to disagree.
This is why McCain is gaining and will WIN in November. Straight Talk!
