Sunday, April 06, 2008

Obama & troops in Iraq

The New York Sun reports:

A key adviser to Senator Obama’s campaign is recommending in a confidential paper that America keep between 60,000 and 80,000 troops in Iraq as of late 2010, a plan at odds with the public pledge of the Illinois senator to withdraw combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

The paper, obtained by The New York Sun, was written by Colin Kahl for the center-left Center for a New American Security. In “Stay on Success: A Policy of Conditional Engagement,” Mr. Kahl writes that through negotiations with the Iraqi government “the U.S. should aim to transition to a sustainable over-watch posture (of perhaps 60,000–80,000 forces) by the end of 2010 (although the specific timelines should be the byproduct of negotiations and conditions on the ground).”

Mr. Kahl is the day-to-day coordinator of the Obama campaign’s working group on Iraq. A shorter and less detailed version of this paper appeared on the center’s Web site as a policy brief. ...

The rest of the Sun's story's here.



Comments:

Most Americans understand why its essential to our national security that we have a military presence in Iraq for many years to come, just as they understand why an American military presence in necessary in South Korea more than 50 years after an armistice was signed.

We also understand why contingency planning of the type found in the Kahl paper is necessary for a political leader who has some chance of becoming President next January.

And we understand why Senator Obama is promising to withdraw all troops from Iraq within 16 months of becoming President.

I just wish on such an important matter, Obama wouldn't pander to win his party's nomination.

Obama’s promise to withdraw from Iraq sows doubt among those Iraqi's who are or would be our allies, and hope among those there who our enemies.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

John, I received an e-mail from a Chicago friend, he said to go to: [www.saintsabina.org] This is the Catholic Church that supports Rev. Wright and Louis Farrakhan.

On the right side is a listing of recorded sermons, scroll down to Cornel West. You have to listen to him to believe it.

I would be called a racist if I repeated his words here. The things West says are despicable IMO. He also says they are “In a full court press for Obama.”

What makes this more notable is that Cornel West is a college professor who seems to have been spouting this garbage for decades.

My advice was to listen to it now, as hate exposed will be erased, or referred to as snippets. Preaching hate in church, who knew?

Anonymous said...

John -

Interesting news. Sounds to me like the NAFTA memo. It also reminds me of Kerry's, statement about first voting for the bill and then voting against it. First Obamas is for withdrawing the troops, and then he's for keeping them there, for a while. A true bait and switch artist. (Also, I think the number of troops he does want to keep on will be insufficient, and we will end up withdrawing ignominiously as we did from the Saigon embassy.)

Jack in Silver Spring

mac said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

9:47 pm,

You can bet some people supporting Obama will be disappointed if he gets elected. He won't pull the troops out like he's saying now. It would be a stupid thing to do.

He'll pull more to the center as most presidents usually do. Obama is not stupid no matter what else one might say about his politics.

JWM said...

To Archer 05,

I've listened to the first 20 minutes of it.

I guess that's just the warmup.

I'll try to listen to all of it tomorrow and respond more fully then.

To Jack,

Reading your comment I thought of the 2004 ad showing John Kerry windsurfing.

Do you remember "Whichever way the wind blows?"

To Mac,

I wonder how Soros plays it "on the inside."

Have you ever read an MSM story explaining that?

Plenty about the fights during and after campaigns between Bill and Al, John and John, Bill and Hill, et all.

But nothing about Soros.

Talk about getting a pass.

To Anon @ 9:33,

Some people will no doubt be disappointed as you say.

How about angry?

Do you think some or most of the MoveOn.org crowd will be angry if he doesn't move to quickly pull out of Iraq as al-Qaeda wants us to?

A thank you to the 4 of you.

John