Obama’s foreign policy attempt in Iraq

Despite the fact that Barack Obama has claimed he only wants our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible, yesterday we all read that he meant that he wanted the troops out of Iraq as soon as possible after he gets elected. Playing gotcha with the Bush Administration, Obama apparently tried to get the Iraqis to stall the Bush Administration’s efforts to begin a negotiated withdrawal of troops according to Amir Taheri of the New York Post (by way of Hot Air);

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops – and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.”

“However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open.” Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is “illegal,” he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the “weakened Bush administration,” Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

So I guess the truth is only convenient for political purposes and when lies don’t work anymore. The Corner posted the McCain camp’s response last night (by way of Ace of Spades);

At this point, it is not yet clear what official American negotiations Senator Obama tried to undermine with Iraqi leaders, but the possibility of such actions is unprecedented.  It should be concerning to all that he reportedly urged that the democratically-elected Iraqi government listen to him rather than the US administration in power.  If news reports are accurate, this is an egregious act of political interference by a presidential candidate seeking political advantage overseas.  Senator Obama needs to reveal what he said to Iraq’s Foreign Minister during their closed door meeting.    The charge that he sought to delay the withdrawal of Americans from Iraq raises serious questions about Senator Obama’s judgment and it demands an explanation.

This morning’s NY Post reports the Obama campaign’s reply;

Barack Obama said yesterday he didn’t urge Iraq to hold up an agreement with the Bush administration over the status of US troops serving in Iraq.

“Obama has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat brigades,” said Wendy Morigi, an Obama spokeswoman in response to a column in yesterday’s Post.

Morigi cited “outright distortions” in an column by Amir Taheri, but the Obama camp did not specifically dispute any of the quotes in the piece.

Well, then why would an Iraqi politician say that stuff? What could Iraqis possibly gain from making the story up?

Well, it seems that the Iraqis didn’t make it up, because in an AFP story, the Obama campaign admits that they did indeed ask the Iraqis to hold off until after the Bush Administration leaves office;

But Obama’s national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri’s article bore “as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial.”

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

In the face of resistance from Bush, the Democrat has long said that any such agreement must be reviewed by the US Congress as it would tie a future administration’s hands on Iraq.

“Barack Obama has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat brigades,” Morigi said.

So it’s an absolute lie that Obama didn’t tell the Iraqis to DELAY the negotiations, he said they should NOT RUSH into an agreement until after the new administration and Congress has a chance to review it. See the difference? Me neither.

Since the IVAW thinks Obama is the answer to all of their prayers, why aren’t they demanding answers? It apparent to me that Obama tried to feather his bed and write his legacy from the first day in office by trying to get credit for winning a war he never supported in the first place (for political reasons).

Yeah, this is more of the same change we’ve grown accustomed to from Democrats.

Category: Politics