Obama tried to sway Iraqis

The Washington Times is reporting this morning that Obama tried to influence the Iraqis to avoid a status of forces agreement with the Bush Administration before he tried to influence them on his trip to Iraq in July;

Mr. Obama spoke June 16 to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari when he was in Washington, according to both the Iraqi Embassy in Washington and the Obama campaign. Both said the conversation was at Mr. Zebari’s request and took place on the phone because Mr. Obama was traveling.

However, the two sides differ over what Mr. Obama said.

“In the conversation, the senator urged Iraq to delay the [memorandum of understanding] between Iraq and the United States until the new administration was in place,” said Samir Sumaidaie, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States.

The Obama team says so what? He was just acting in his capacity as a Senator;

When Mr. Obama spoke to Mr. Zebari, he was speaking in his capacity as a senator and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Miss Morigi said. “It’s obvious that others are trying to mischaracterize Obama’s position, [but] on numerous occasions he has made it perfectly clear that the United States only has one president at a time and that the administration speaks with one voice.”

Where in the Constitution does it mention that Senators have the power of negotiation with foreign countries? Yeah, the most idiotic ones like John Kerry do (but then Kerry tried to negotiate our surrender with the North Vietnamese as a Navy Officer, too), but the Constitution, a very specific document on what government is allowed to do, doesn’t say a thing about the subject. So it’s not quite as pedestrian as the Obama office tries to make it sound.

A US Senator urging a foreign government to NOT negotiate with the current administration is treason. He’s going to be real disappointed come November.

Category: Politics