Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Barack Obama says get out of Iraq


I got this in the email today:

The time for waiting in Iraq is over. The days of our open-ended commitment
must come to a close. And the need to bring this war to an end is here...

That is why today, I’m introducing the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007.
This plan would not only place a cap on the number of troops in Iraq and stop
the escalation, it would begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces with the
goal of removing of all U.S. combat forces from Iraq by March 31st, 2008 –
consistent with the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that the
President ignored.


The redeployment of troops to the United States , Afghanistan ,
and elsewhere in the region would begin no later than May 1st of this
year
, toward the end of the timeframe I first proposed in a speech more
than two months ago. In a civil war where no military solution exists, this
redeployment remains our best leverage to pressure the Iraqi government to
achieve the political settlement between its warring factions that can slow the
bloodshed and promote stability.
The question is not if we end the occupation of Iraq but when. Now Obama has spelled out his position that's not some nonbinding bullshit and the other Democratic candidates will have to follow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Instead of ousting Hussein, we should have been thankful to have him in Iraq. There was no one happier when we toppled Sadam's government than Iran. And all of the neo con fiction writers can spout all their gibberish about freedom and democracy until Jesus returns, but facts are facts. You cannot have a Democratic government in which the opposing factions do NOT agree to disagree. If an American goes to a foreign country and is asked his orientation he does not reply Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, etc., he says "I'm an American". Most Iraqis do not describe themselves as Iraqis--they identify with their religion/tribe--Sunni, Shiia, Kurd. The only ones left who support this fiasco are the true believers--those who live in a monolithic world--those who will support anything that King George says or does. I still say that if the good King had a fling with an intern all the neo cons who blasted Clinton would find a way to defend him. But, they do provide His Holiness with much entertainment when I view them squirming to explain the unexplainable. God BLess them all.

Anonymous said...

This bill shows how (potentially) transformative Obama could be in the next year or so. He is very well positioned (and getting stronger) in the democratic primary field.

If Edwards does not blow-out fundraising this quarter the race will become Clinton v Obama in short order. With all the various primaries moving up, top tier candidates will have to have significantly more primary cash by the fall than ever before.