Posted on 07/22/2008 8:29:43 PM PDT by library user
Senator Obama is currently in Iraq, touring the country and speaking in person with Iraqi and American officials, including commanding officers like General David Petraeus, the mastermind behind the successful troop surge that paved the way for an unprecedented new level of security and tranquility throughout Iraq. General Petraeus, among other officials (including Iraqis) have repeatedly warned Senator Obama in private discussions that any type of premature withdrawal of troops, without first meeting certain criteria and conditions, could prove catastrophic. Despite the media’s portrayals of Iraqi nationals wanting US forces out as soon as possible, most people with whom Obama has spoken have urged the Illinois senator to make sure withdrawals are made when Iraq’s new military and government are willing to stand on their own feet.
Obama’s presidential rival, Senator John McCain, has also argued that Obama, who is traveling to the Middle East for the first time in over 900 days (whereas McCain visited the Middle East just a few months ago), did not go into the Middle East with an open mind. Obama called the trip a “fact-finding mission,” and McCain has said that Obama’s unwillingness to even consider changing his stance on Iraq proves that the trip is a political show rather than a sincere effort to understand more about one of the United States’ biggest issues. All three television network news anchors will be joining up with Senator Obama as he continues on his trip to meet with the leaders of Western Europe. Critics of Obama assert that Obama’s trip is not going to change anything for him or even shed any new light. Rather, they say that the purpose of the trip is so that Obama can claim to have broadened his foreign policy horizon and deny critics’ accusations that he is not paying enough attention to the Middle East.
It seems this is, in fact, becoming true. Despite General Petraeus’s and many other officials’ warnings against premature troop withdrawals, Obama stood before reporters in Iraq today and once again touted his 16-month time-frame for withdrawing all troops. In a report filed by NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell, she says that, “earlier today before Obama left Iraq, Sunni tribal chiefs who helped fight al-Qaeda in Iraq also warned [Obama] against withdrawing too soon. But Obama remains confident in his judgment.” In the report, Obama states: ”I don’t have doubts about my ability to apply sound judgment to the major national security problems that we face.” Such a statement implies that, despite what experts have told him, he still believes in what he has said for years, even though it has been disproved.
Senator Obama also said that he would still have voted against the troop surge, even after visiting Iraq and seeing how General Petraeus’s strategy has made the country’s streets and neighborhoods safer. This is truly astonishing and disconcerting, since it is widely acknowledged that the troop surges have improved conditions in Iraq. Obama has shown once again that, even after going to Iraq on a so-called “fact-finding mission,” he is still unwilling to admit that perhaps his strong anti-war and anti-surge stances were even the slightest bit wrong or misconstrued. It’s troubling to see how Obama has been given so much information from unbiased sources in America, Iraq and abroad showing that things are improving, and yet he is still convinced a hasty withdrawal from Iraq is the appropriate action to take. His stubborn war attitude is reminiscent of a certain president who has gone from being fairly popular to being hated because of his inability to recognize and admit his own misjudgments.
ping.
Central Planners can never admit they were wrong, no matter how obvious it is.
Pray for W and Our Troops
And these tribal chiefs know that their necks are on the chopping block if we leave before native security can ensure security and safety for all who took a stance against the terrorists.
I love this headline!
it allowed al obama to try out his new foreign policy tri-cylce,
and the youngster did well.
well, sorta.
Yeah ,we found a fact...
Obama is a know-nothing arrogant asshole — That’s a FACT!
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