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by Steven D
First a little context:
In Iraq, the current government led by Prime Minister Maliki is arresting government officials who are members of Muqtada al-Sadr's movement. Maliki's cabinet has banned the use of pictures of non-candidates at political rallies, a move thought to be aimed at the Muqtada al-Sadr's political party which frequently uses his picture at rallies of his supporters. Progress has also reportedly been made between the Maliki government and the Bush administration regarding the status of forces agreement which will formally permit US troops (and their bases) to remain in Iraq after 2008. All this comes after news that the US military has been spying on the Iraqi military because they don't trust their putative allies. And now word comes that Obama is walking back on his pledge to withdraw troops from Iraq, or as the headline from Reuters so delicately puts it "Obama signals flexibility on Iraq." The Illinois senator has repeatedly pledged to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, one brigade every month until all are out in 16 months. Last September he argued, "the best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq's leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops." [...] The borrow a phrase from Seymour Hersh, "the battlefield is being prepared" for Obama to adopt a policy which accepts a long term commitment of an unspecified number of US forces to remain in Iraq. In essence, this is the same policy that Senator Clinton promoted in her campaign. It's difference from Senator McCain's position (Bush redux, otherwise known as "stay the course") is arguably lessening each day. In effect, this is a not so nuanced retreat from his earlier pledge to be out of Iraq within 16 months. Some might call this typical behavior by a Democrat, i.e., caving in to the fear of appearing weak on issues of national security and war by moving closer to the Republican position, rather than forthrightly promoting a policy that the majority of Americans favor. Some might say that, and, frankly, it would be hard to argue with them. Indeed, some are saying this, quite openly and avidly: (cont.)
"I can unequivocally say: the Obama campaign is making a very serious mistake," said Ariana Huffington, writing on the liberal Huffington Post blog. "Tacking to the centre is a losing strategy." [...] The question for me is not what Obama's campaign strategy is with respect to how he "talks" about Iraq, the question for me is what he will do once he gets in office regarding Iraq. And statements by his current advisers do not give me much comfort on that point:
[Anthony] Lake compared the Iraq war to the conflict in Vietnam in citing the need to leave behind a functioning Iraqi government. This is the same Anthony Lake who was Bill Clinton's National Security Adviser, by the way. And he is spouting the insane belief that if only we had left a " government in Saigon that could govern successfully" we would have succeeded in Vietnam? What madness is this? What Vietnam is he imagining? Certainly not the one which exists in any reality I know of. We will never have a functioning government in Iraq so long as our troops retain a presence there to prop up the most pro-American faction. At present US forces are backing al-Maliki and his allies, the group, ironically enough with the closest ties to Iran. It well established that this is one of the most corrupt governments in the region, and the fact that our military feels the need to spy on the Iraqi Army should tell you everything you need to know about the reliability of Prime Minister Maliki's government as our "partner" in the region. It is a fool's errand to attempt to establish a "stable" government in Iraq before leaving. You would have thought Vietnam and the lessons of Britain's prior occupation of Iraq would have taught our political elites this fact. Sadly, no. Apparently they have learned nothing from history. And even worse, these are the people that Obama has advising him and speaking on his behalf regarding Iraq. That speaks volumes by itself, does it not?
Obama and Iraq | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Obama and Iraq | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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