Obama's Iraq Quagmire
July 03, 2008 4:40 PM
FROM GUEST-BLOGGER RICK KLEIN, from ABC's The Note.
There's been lots of speculation this week about whether Sen. Barack Obama has an Iraq problem. He does now.
His comments Wednesday, saying that he will "continue to refine" his plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq inside of 16 months, seems likely to leave the campaign on the defensive on this issue for days or weeks.
And it increases the likelihood that his trip to Iraq later this month will not turn out like Obama wants it to.
There will be only one relevant question now out of Obama's trip now: Do you stand by your plan? Obama is unlikely to give a direct, yes-or-no answer -- and that's where Sen. John McCain and his allies can and will pounce.
Obama has almost always built in some wiggle room into his proposal -- including promises to consult with commanders on the ground -- but surely not always. For point of reference, go to Obama's own campaign Website:
"Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda."
That's pretty unequivocal.
Obama's migration to the political center has been well-documented, and is already a frame McCain is building around his candidacy. But Iraq -- this is qualitatively different, an issue that lives on a higher plane, since opposing the war was the rationale for his candidacy in the first place.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/obamas-iraq-qua.html
Moveon.org is going ballistic...riots in Denver? :nohead:
July 03, 2008 4:40 PM
FROM GUEST-BLOGGER RICK KLEIN, from ABC's The Note.
There's been lots of speculation this week about whether Sen. Barack Obama has an Iraq problem. He does now.
His comments Wednesday, saying that he will "continue to refine" his plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq inside of 16 months, seems likely to leave the campaign on the defensive on this issue for days or weeks.
And it increases the likelihood that his trip to Iraq later this month will not turn out like Obama wants it to.
There will be only one relevant question now out of Obama's trip now: Do you stand by your plan? Obama is unlikely to give a direct, yes-or-no answer -- and that's where Sen. John McCain and his allies can and will pounce.
Obama has almost always built in some wiggle room into his proposal -- including promises to consult with commanders on the ground -- but surely not always. For point of reference, go to Obama's own campaign Website:
"Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda."
That's pretty unequivocal.
Obama's migration to the political center has been well-documented, and is already a frame McCain is building around his candidacy. But Iraq -- this is qualitatively different, an issue that lives on a higher plane, since opposing the war was the rationale for his candidacy in the first place.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/obamas-iraq-qua.html
Moveon.org is going ballistic...riots in Denver? :nohead:
