Seriously, I love this article (digg story)
“I called for a comprehensive new strategy — a surge of troops and counterinsurgency to win the war. Senator Obama disagreed,” Mr. McCain said. “He opposed the surge, predicted it would increase sectarian violence, and called for our troops to retreat as quickly as possible. Today we know Senator Obama was wrong.”
We know that Mr. Obama was wrong. Mr. Obama is having some trouble coming to terms with the reality that is now being shoved down his throat.
Mr. Obama acknowledged in what was billed as a major foreign policy address that the addition of tens of thousands of combat troops to Iraq early last year had lowered violence there. But he said that only strengthened his case for a rapid withdrawal, not weakened it, because the surge had increased the strain on American forces and had cost lives and money as the situation in Afghanistan grew worsened.
This does not even make sense. Never mind that every analyst and commentator in the world has been forced to admit that the troop surge has been a success. Mr. Obama believes that we should rapidly withdraw forces from Iraq because the surge has increased the strain on American forces, cost lives and money and the situation in Afghanistan grew worse. What?? The following paragraph in the article quotes Mr. Obama as saying that Mr. McCain does not have a strategy for success in Iraq. Mr. McCain’s web site clearly states his strategy for success in Iraq which also includes a clear guideline on when US troops should come home. Maybe Mr. Obama should go over and read it. It says:
The best way to secure long-term peace and security is to establish a stable, prosperous, and democratic state in Iraq that poses no threat to its neighbors and contributes to the defeat of terrorists. When Iraqi forces can safeguard their own country, American troops can return home.
It really doesn’t get any clearer than that. Mr. Obama has not been able to explain his strategy for Iraq in such clear concise terms. Moreover, Mr. Obama’s strategy for Iraq is really a strategy for America, Iraq be damned. Mr. Obama’s plan for Iraq is to, as quickly as possible, leave Iraqis to fend for themselves on the assumption that if they are not ready the pressure of the situation will force them to become ready sooner. Mr. Obama’s strategy provides the window of opportunity for insurgents and al Qaeda in Iraq to restore themselves.
Senator Obama is departing soon on a trip abroad that will include a fact-finding mission to Iraq and Afghanistan,” Mr. McCain said at his town hall meeting in Albuquerque. “And I note that he is speaking today about his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan before he has even left, before he has talked to General Petraeus, before he has seen the progress in Iraq, and before he has set foot in Afghanistan for the first time. In my experience, fact-finding missions usually work best the other way around: first you assess the facts on the ground, then you present a new strategy.
Mr. Obama has been quoted a number of times as saying that he thinks his judgement. I seriously question Mr. Obama’s judgement.
aloha
[posted with ecto]