Obama rewrites Iraq plan

[peewee's lovechild]

Obama rewrites Iraq plan

By MIKE ALLEN | 7/3/08 4:16 PM EST

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) promised primary voters a swift withdrawal from Iraq, in clear language still on his 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.”

Not anymore. Heading into the holiday weekend, Obama and his advisers repudiated that pledge, saying he is reevaluating his plan and will incorporate advice from commanders on the ground when he visits Iraq later this month.

A top Obama adviser said he is not “wedded” to a specific timeline, and Obama said Thursday he plans to “refine” his plan.

“I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he told reporters in Fargo, N.D., according to CBS News. "When I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies."

But he went on to maintain: “I have been consistent, throughout this process, that I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.”

David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, went even further during remarks Wednesday on CNN’s “Situation Room,” telling guest host John Roberts that Obama has actually advocated “a phased withdrawal, with benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, that called for strategic pauses, based on the progress on these benchmarks, and advice on the commanders on the ground.”

“He's always said that he would listen to the advice of commanders on the ground that that would factor into his thinking,” Axelrod said. “He's also always said that we had to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. So he's been very consistent on this point. ...

“I think he will take the advice, not just the advice of the commanders on the ground but his general assessment of conditions on the ground, in calibrating that withdrawal. He said he thought we could get one to two brigades out a month. But he's not wedded to that in the face of events. No president would be. And he's always said that he's never said that this withdrawal would be without any possibility of alteration based on events on the ground. That would not be a prudent thing to do for any president.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11517.html

[ChumpDumper]

Not a surprise. The campaign issue for both candidates will be how to "fix" Iraq and Afghanistan. It would take the better part of a presidential term to fully withdraw anyway, so why not try something in the meantime.

[peewee's lovechild]

Not a surprise. The campaign issue for both candidates will be how to "fix" Iraq and Afghanistan. It would take the better part of a presidential term to fully withdraw anyway, so why not try something in the meantime.

Because he campaigned on an "immediate withdrawal" from Iraq. He was critical about Hillary's gradual withdrawal plan. Now, it looks like he'll be doing just that.

[Nbadan]

Obama stated yesterday that he is sticking to his previous 16 month plan, pulling out a brigade a month, that said, any withdrawal plan is better than another McCain surge...

[Nbadan]

Josh Marshall gets it...


The McCain camp seems to have a lot of reporters eating out of its hands since many journalists don't appear to grasp the basic distinction between strategy and tactics. I've even had normally sensible journalist colleagues forwarding me RNC press releases like they're passing on the revealed truth. McCain's campaign actually put out a statement claiming that Obama "has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground."

I've watched this campaign unfold pretty closely. And I've listened to Obama's position on Iraq. He's been very clear through this year and last on the distinction between strategy and tactics. Presidents set the strategy -- which in this context means the goal or the policy. And if the policy is a military one, a President will consult closely with his military advisors on the tactics used to execute the policy.

This is an elementary distinction the current occupant in the White House has continually tried to confuse by claiming that his policies are driven and constrained by the advice he's given by his commanders on the ground. There's nothing odd or contradictory about Obama saying that he'll change the policy to one of withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq with a specific timetable but that he will consult with his military advisors about how best to execute that policy.

For the McCain campaign to put out a memo to reporters claiming that Obama has adopted McCain's policy only shows that his advisers believe that a sizable percentage of the political press is made up of incorrigible morons. And it's hard to disagree with the judgment.

The simple truth is that this campaign offers a very clear cut choice on Iraq. One candidate believes that the US occupation of Iraq is the solution; the other thinks it's the problem. John McCain supports the permanent deployment of US troops in Iraq. That is why his hundred years remark isn't some gotcha line. It's a clear statement of his policy. Obama supports a deliberate and orderly withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It's a completely different view of America's role in the world and future in the Middle East.

Talking Point memo (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/202750.php)

[PEP]

He's backtracked on almost all his positions, he knows he cant get elected just on the nutroots on the left he has to move to the middle. I doubt that itll make a difference to the kooks on the left, theyll vote for him regardless.

[boutons_]

People are actually believing campaign bullshit, by either side, especially the "change" side? GMAFB

The Repug main campaign plank in 2000 was to invade and occupy Iraq for oil, but that was held in complete secrecy. The other more visible plank was cutting taxes, and they rammed through the most unfair tax cut in US history as soon as they took office.

McFlop's bullshit is actually more believable in that he's not changing anything, only rolling with the momentum established by dubya.

Changing that momentum, esp in Iraq-for-oil and Afghanistan, will be extremely difficult, so HUSSEIN talking change is very different from walking change.