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DES MOINES, Iowa – A video the Barack Obama campaign produced last year to solicit the endorsement of an Iowa-based advocacy group has generated more than 3 million page views on YouTube, fueled by chain e-mails claiming the clip is evidence the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee intends to disarm the U.S.. Florida's St. Petersburg Times received an e-mail that warned of Obama's plan to "unilaterally disarm our nation" and stated, "You do not have to check Snopes to determine if this is true or false. ... Watch and listen to Obama's own words." WND also received an e-mail suggesting the...

According to some Republican friends, the Democrats are trying to have this pulled from YouTube to keep people from hearing Barack Obama say that he will cut our Armed Forces (in the face of a growing threat from Russia) and stop development of new nuclear weapons such as the Reliable Replacement Warhead. Needless to say, I downloaded a copy so I can post it to blogs and Web sites if Obama's Internet thugs do succeed in having it removed from YouTube. Um, Barry, I think former Republican administrations already negotiated with Russia to take our nuclear arsenals off hair trigger...

THE OBAMA-BIDEN TICKET IS THE FIRST TICKET OF EITHER MAJOR PARTY IN SIXTY-EIGHT YEARS IN WHICH NEITHER THE CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT EVER SERVED IN THE MILITARY! At a time of war, the Democrats give us something the nation hasn't seen in more than two generations: a ticket where neither of the the running mates ever wore a uniform of any kind. Shouldn't Republicans make a big deal of this? Consider the history-- 2004 -- GOP -- Bush served in National Guard/ DEMS- Kerry served in the Navy 2000---GOP -- Bush served in National Guard/ Al Gore served in the Army...

At bottom, Obama is a calculating left-wing ideologue, and that is how he would govern when it comes to the war - and much else. His unvarying first instinct is that the pursuit of America's interests overseas, especially their pursuit by military force, is imperial and provocative. That pursuit, and not fundamentalist Islam's propensity to spawn violent radicalism, is for him the real threat. At home, Obama sees sensible measures to protect the country from attack as violations of civil liberties and a slippery slope to "profiling" - a revealing reminder of the race-conscious, criminal-friendly activism that marked Obama's years...

"Democrat Barack Obama scolded Russia....for invading another country’s sovereign territory while adding....the United States, should set a better example on that front, too...."

Amazing...what he says on tape to (apparently) some liberal group.......... http://macsmind.com/wordpress/2008/02/27/obama-plans-to-disarm-america/

HE PLANS ON DISARMING AMERICA, DOES HE REALLY THINK THAT THE WORLD WILL LAY DOWN THEIR WEAPONS FOR AMERICA? THIS MAN IF ELECTED WILL PUT AMERICA ON THE DEFENSE AND I AS A REAGAN DEMOCRAT PREFER TO HAVE SAFETY AND SECURITY OVER HOPE AND INSPIRATION!

Timing is a funny thing. Just a few days ago Russia invaded Georgia, in an attempt to rein in a nascent democracy that Russia has always considered to be within its sphere of influence. And yesterday Poland and the U.S. come to agreement on ballistic missile defense and reciprocal defense. What a curious coincidence, huh? Would a President Obama be willing to commit to the defense of nations such as Poland, and to invest in missile defense and other combat systems that those allies seek? This clip goes a long way to answering that question: Video at link

When Russia attacked Georgia, McCain blasted the bad guys telling Russia to basically get the hell out. Obama put down the Strawberry Daiquiri (freshly made at the beach bar in Maui) and gave his best Rodney King, telling everyone to settle down and work it out through the U.N. Nothing about Russia getting out of another sovereign country. Nothing about who is wrong and who is right. Just a small shriek at the sight of blood and whining to stop the fighting. Overnight somebody must have told Obama that Georgia is an American ally and McCain (surprise) had the more...

Check the link, to read the article. It is from APHere is a "featured comment" from the website: Featured comment criticized McCain for supporting then do not forget 20+ dem senators who voted for the war. this includes his new "friend" hillary.

As Barack Obama was on his way to Houston yesterday for two fundraisers, Republicans elevated their criticism of the Illinois Senator for declining to attend a planned presidential forum near Fort Hood. McCain had previously agreed to attend a veterans-sponsored town hall meeting in Belton, scheduled for Aug. 11. CBS was arranging to televise it. Obama's campaign cited a scheduling conflict but has noted his previous events before veterans. The event was finally canceled earlier this week.

Here's the good part: In Iraq, it’s not new that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has wanted to take control of his own country. But there’s always been this gap between his assessment of his abilities and American commanders’ saying he’s not up to it. As president, faced with that difference between what he says he can do and what the commanders say he can do, how would you choose between them? Iraq is a sovereign country. Not just according to me, but according to George Bush and John McCain. So ultimately our presence there is at their invitation, and their...

The John McCain and Barack Obama campaigns continued their back-and-forth today over Obama's cancelled visit to wounded soldiers in Germany. Obama said he did not want to bring presidential politics to hospital bedsides, and his campaign said the Pentagon also was concerned about a campaign visit. But military officials said he could have visited as a senator without campaign officials, as he did in Iraq, and Republicans have been piling on incessantly. This afternoon, McCain's campaign issued a statement from retired Lt. Colonel Joe Repya, a 30-year veteran of Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars. "The most solemn duty of...

Only two facts matter in this little episode. First, Obama is a sitting U.S. Senator and can visit the troops any time he wants. Second, the only restriction on visiting the troops was that he could not bring reporters. Most importantly, it makes no difference what you call the trip. "Senator Obama had hoped to and had every intention of visiting our troops to express his appreciation and gratitude for their service to our country," retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, an Obama adviser, said in a statement. "We learned from the Pentagon [Wednesday] night that the visit...

A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but "for some reason the visit was called off." One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama's representatives were told, "he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member, no campaign officials or workers." In addition, "Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama's visit."...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain received a warm welcome and standing ovation from a Hispanic veterans group Friday as he sought to highlight his credentials to be the country's commander-in-chief. Speaking at Denver's Grand Hyatt hotel, McCain said he and rival Barack Obama faced a choice 18 months ago when the situation in Iraq had deteriorated. In prepared remarks, the Arizona senator called it a "real-time test for a future commander-in-chief. America passed that test." McCain advocated sending more troops to Iraq before the Bush Administration decided to follow that strategy. Obama has opposed it and said again this week...

Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been rocked over the bad publicity Obama is getting over his perceived snub of wounded troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.ABC News reports Obama staffers staged three separate briefings in just forty-five minutes on O-Force One as they flew from Berlin to Paris today.Yesterday, the Obama campaign put out two conflicting reasons for canceling the visit. One blamed the Pentagon, the other said Obama chose not to visit over concerns the stop would be seen as political.The Pentagon has responded to reporters queries saying that Obama was welcome to visit as a senator...

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube get the skinny on the abrupt cancellation of Barack Obama’s visit to Landstuhl and Ramstein yesterday. The campaign tried to excuse it by claiming that it wouldn’t be appropriate to visit while on a campaign-funded portion of his trip, but that wasn’t the real problem. When Obama found out he couldn’t use the visit as a photo op, he canceled: One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama’s representatives were told, “he could only bring two or three...

The Pentagon said Barack Obama phoned wounded U.S. soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical center in Germany today a day after a firestorm developed over his cancellation of plans to visit the base and Ramstein Air Force Base.Pentagon spokeswoman Elizabeth Hibner told Bloomberg News that Obama was told by the military he could visit the bases as an offical but not as a candidate and without campaign staff.Obama chose to cancel the visit and instead phoned it in to the troops.

Susan Estrich and USA Today slam Barry for ducking the question.

After visiting GIs in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq as part the congressional delegation prelude to his campaign swing in the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama canceled planned visits to the U.S. military bases at Ramsteina and Landstuhl.Landstuhl is where wounded U.S. troops are taken from the battlefield to be stabalized before being flown to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. and other military hospitals back home.Jake Tapper of ABC News reports the Obama campaign issued a statement saying the planned visits with the troops were canceled because it was deemed by the campaign to be "inapprpopriate" because Obama's stop in...

"And then we sat down with [Barack Obama] to talk about what has become an open disagreement between military commanders here and Obama, over his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq on a 16-month timetable." -- Terry Moran Barack Obama ABC Interview July 21, 2008 ABC's Terry Moran: "And then we sat down with [Barack Obama] to talk about what has become an open disagreement between military commanders here and Obama, over his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq on a 16-month timetable. Did General Petraeus talk about military concerns about your timetable?" Barack...

1:42 p.m.: SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that Obama has cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday. "Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. "I don't know why." Shortly before the same spokeswoman had announced a planned visit by Obama.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Email to a FriendAdvertisement While Barack Obama has touted his travel to the Middle East and Europe this week as a “fact-finding” trip, 63% of Americans do not believe it makes the Democratic candidate any more qualified to be president. A new Rasmussen Reports national survey, taken Monday night, also finds that less than a third (32%) think Obama will learn from his trip to Iraq. Forty percent (40%) say his mind is already made up about policies to deal with the war there. The Democrat has been accused by liberals in his party of softening...

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was pinned down on Tuesday on whether he credits an increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq -- known as the "surge" -- for helping stabilize the country. Obama was asked repeatedly on "CBS Evening News" whether the surge has worked. He explained why he would still oppose a troop increase in Iraq, saying it does not meet the long-term U.S. strategic goal and that the emphasis on Iraq had taken a toll on the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. "If we have shifted away from the central front of terrorism as a consequence of enormous...

Not long after he touched down at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Saturday, Barack Obama posed for pictures with three American officials, a pair of military men in uniform, and one rather imposing statue of a bald eagle. It was an ideal photo opportunity for a candidate looking to convince skeptics of his patriotism - just 37 percent of voters identified Obama as "very patriotic" in a recent CBS News/New York Times poll - and his toughness when it comes to foreign policy. And it was typical of the images that have come out of Obama's visit to the...

Here is video of Barack Obama from Iraq,in an interview with ABC News, saying he would NOT support the "Surge Strategy" if he had it to do over again! This is the very "Surge Strategy" that has undeniably transformed Iraq. But Obama says he would still oppose it because . . . well, just because . . . (see video) Obama opposed the "Surge Strategy" when it was announced, and said it would make things worse . . . (see video) Obama continued to oppose the Surge Strategy, even after it was underway and said it was making things worse...

Shocking. Not that he’d insist he was right all along, all evidence to the contrary — a hallmark of the Iraq debate on both sides — but that he’d offer such a feeble defense. What can this possibly mean? Q: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge? A: No, because, keep in mind that… Q: You wouldn’t? A: Keep in mind… These kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I’m absolutely convinced of, is that at that time we had to change...

After meeting with top U.S. military commanders and members of the Iraqi government, Sen. Barack Obama today said his opposition to the surge and support for a firm timetable for the withdrawal of troops hasn't changed. ~snip~ Obama and Petraeus have also staked out opposing positions on whether there should be a timetable for withdrawing American forces. Obama said that in his meeting with Petraeus, the general discussed his "deep concerns" about "a timetable that doesn't take into account what they anticipate might be a change in conditions." "My job is to think about the national security interests as a...

NYT Poll: Obama "Not Likely" to Be Effective Commander-in-ChiefBy Floyd and Mary Beth BrownFrontPageMagazine.com | 7/21/2008 On the night of January 20, 2009, a new commander-in-chief will leave the inaugural podium, parade, and festivities for the Oval Office. A national security staff ready with the latest “threat briefing” will join him there. On his desk, they will place a thick binder of reports, each focusing on real or emerging threats to our national security. In the quiet of the Oval Office -- in the presence of these stern-faced, deadly serious briefers and advisers -- Barack H. Obama, should he...

A sizable minority of voters (43%) say that Barack Obama would be not tough enough in dealing with foreign policy and national security issues as president, the same number of voters that say Obama's foreign policy would be about right (43%). By contrast, a narrow majority (51%) say that John McCain's approach to security issues would be about right; only 16% say he would not be tough enough. A quarter say McCain would be too tough. The confidence in McCain's foreign policy is reflected in the fact that while public opinion is negative on Iraq, more voters favor McCain (46%)...

What if someone gave a war & Nobody came? Life would ring the bells of Ecstasy and Forever be Itself again. -- from"Graffiti," poem by Allen Ginsberg [1972]. Maybe so. But what of the converse? What if someone sued for peace but the enemy didn't go along? That was General David Petraeus's observation today on the Obama withdrawal plan, in a line that could well become my favorite of the year. Petraeus made his comment in the course of an interview with Andrea Mitchell, in Baghdad. A clip of the interview was aired on this evening's Hardball, with Mike Barnicle...

On the night of January 20, 2009, a new commander-in-chief will leave the inaugural podium, parade, and festivities for the Oval Office. A national security staff ready with the latest “threat briefing” will join him there. On his desk, they will place a thick binder of reports, each focusing on real or emerging threats to our national security. In the quiet of the Oval Office -- in the presence of these stern-faced, deadly serious briefers and advisers -- Barack H. Obama, should he be the next president, will come face-to-face with reality. Americans are afraid of this scenario, Barack H....

This is pretty powerful.

The candidate correctly notes Most political observers expect the presidential election will turn largely on how voters think the economy is faring and which candidate will be best equipped to steer it into the next decade. But the most durable issue in the campaign continues to be how best to manage the wars U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This week, in a newspaper op-ed and a major address, Democratic nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama sought to slash into the perception that John McCain, his Republican rival, would be a better commander-in-chief. Obama sharpened his criticism of the management of...

Yesterday, Barack Obama tried on his most unconvincing costume–that of commander-in-chief–giving a national security speech at Purdue University and submitting his plan to keep America safe: The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also released a nine-page document on “Confronting 21st Century Threats,” in which his campaign said the White House, Congress and some U.S. allies had succumbed to a mind-set of “conventional thinking [that] has failed to adapt to a world of new threats.” If Obama is so concerned with the rigidity of old school approaches, why did he try to stifle the most radical shift in national security thinking–the Petraeus...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday said he wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons and pledged to fight emerging threats posed by biological and cyber-terrorism. It's time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons," the White House hopeful said. "As long as nuclear weapons exist, we'll retain a strong deterrent. But we'll make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy." The remarks, delivered at Purdue University in Indiana before a roundtable discussion with foreign policy experts, come as...

THE shadow of the Iraq War still hovers over the 2008 presidential race. In deed, though it's the issue that made Barack Obama (giving him his running room to Hillary Clinton's left), it may now become his chief vulnerability. Weak on national-security issues, untried, inexperienced and (perhaps) naive, Obama can find the Iraq issue hard to handle - if John McCain plays it right. Obama has long since won the issue of Iraq-past - opposing the war before anyone and voting continuously and solidly against it when others waffled. Yet McCain is winning Iraq-present: A majority of Americans believe that...

Barack Obama’s continued call for a troop withdrawal timetable in Iraq has critics complaining that he’s set on that policy before even taking his highly anticipated trip to the Middle East. The Illinois senator has over the past two days escalated a campaign to minimize Iraq in the context of the overall war on terror. Obama on Wednesday stressed the need to secure loose nuclear material and draw down nuclear stockpiles around the world. He said if the nation devoted just one month of Iraq combat costs, estimated to be $10 billion, it could virtually wipe out the threat of...

Welcome to the party boys. Maybe next they'll be calling for a grown-up like Hillary to take the helm.

The Washington Post runs a devastating editorial against Obama's current position on Iraq: Barack Obama yesterday accused President Bush and Sen. John McCain of rigidity on Iraq: "They said we couldn't leave when violence was up, they say we can't leave when violence is down." Mr. Obama then confirmed his own foolish consistency. Early last year, when the war was at its peak, the Democratic candidate proposed a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. combat forces in slightly more than a year. Yesterday, with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war began, Mr. Obama endorsed the same plan. After hinting...

In all the brouhaha over the New Yorker's satirical cover cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama, a truly "tasteless and offensive" passage in the magazine's feature article got lost. The magazine piece quotes Obama's recommendations for how to stop jihad, which he had previously published in a local Chicago newspaper eight days after 9/11. It's a self-parody of blind, deaf and dumb Kumbaya liberalism: "We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part...

BARACK OBAMA yesterday accused President Bush and Sen. John McCain of rigidity on Iraq: "They said we couldn't leave when violence was up, they say we can't leave when violence is down." Mr. Obama then confirmed his own foolish consistency. Early last year, when the war was at its peak, the Democratic candidate proposed a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. combat forces in slightly more than a year. Yesterday, with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war began, Mr. Obama endorsed the same plan. After hinting earlier this month that he might "refine" his Iraq strategy after visiting the...

Obama’s speech on the war in Iraq and national security this morning in Washington D.C. is no strategy at all; it is the same stale mantra of useless promises based on disputed facts. “I was right all along” Obama proclaimed. “We never should have went into Iraq” because “Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks”. This argument might have held some water during the 2004 presidential election, but the year is 2008, and a lot has happened since then.

Though a majority of the American people support ending the war in Iraq and think the invasion was a mistake, Republicans have tried to put Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, into a box as he prepares for his first trip to Iraq since securing his party's presidential nomination. Weeks ago, after Obama said he would be willing to listen to commanders in the ground to "refine" his policy, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Republicans said Obama was flip-flopping. Then after Obama clarified that he is sticking by his plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months, McCain and Republicans...

Barack Obama restated his pledge to end the Iraq war by the summer of 2010, arguing that the U.S. must focus on defeating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of Iran. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in a speech delivered ahead of a trip to the Middle East, said Tuesday in Washington, D.C., that the United States is still at risk of a terrorist attack, but the Iraq war has become a burden on the country that only diminishes security.

Found this at Talking Points Memo:Sixty-one years ago, George Marshall announced the plan that would come to bear his name. Much of Europe lay in ruins. The United States faced a powerful and ideological enemy intent on world domination. This menace was magnified by the recently discovered capability to destroy life on an unimaginable scale. The Soviet Union didn't yet have an atomic bomb, but before long it would. The challenge facing the greatest generation of Americans - the generation that had vanquished fascism on the battlefield - was how to contain this threat while extending freedom's frontiers. Leaders like...

Barack Obama, the Democratic contender for the US presidency, has said his main priority as US president will be to end the US involvement in Iraq. In a foreign policy speech, Senator Obama said "our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe". His second priority would be to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He criticised the policies of his Republican rival in November's poll. John McCain says events on the ground must govern any Iraq pullout. Earlier, President George W Bush rejected any "artificial" timetable...

U.S. should use all tools to pressure Iran: Obama Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:59am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was in America's vital interests and vowed to use all tools to pressure Tehran. "No tool of statecraft should be taken off the table," Obama said in a speech covering broad national security issues, including Iraq and Iran.

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday called the war in Iraq a "dangerous distraction," and said more emphasis must be placed on the battle in Afghanistan. Sen. Barack Obama said he would take the country in a new direction, should he become president. "As should have been apparent to President Bush and Sen. [John] McCain -- the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," Obama said in what his campaign called a major policy address on Iraq, Afghanistan and national security. Obama said part of his new strategy will be "taking the...