But, Please Don’t Question His Support For the US Military.
After meeting with General David Petraeus today, Barack Obama gave credit to the Sunni Awakening members and the Shia militia members for the success of the surge.
Nice.
Gen. David H. Petraeus heads to a Blackhawk helicopter with Sen. Barack Obama after his arrival Monday at Baghdad International Airport with Sen.’s Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel. (DVIDS)
Well, that was a wasted afternoon for General Petraeus.
As Pete says below in the comments: “The “Sunni Awakening”, the Iraqi Army standing up, and Maliki standing up to the Shia, would never have occurred if Obama’s plan to withdraw by March 2008 was implemented.”
True- And, not so hard to figure out, unless you belong to his fan base.
Finally, Barack Obama admits the surge was a success and gives credit to where it is due… To the Sunnis.
Barack Obama credited the Sunni Awakening Members and Shia fighters with the success of the surge today in an interview with ABC.
Marc Ambinder reported:
Sen. Barack Obama said it was “fair” to notice that he did not anticipate that the surge of U.S. troops into Iraq would be coincident with the so-called Sunni Awakening and the decisions of Shia militias to reduce their footprints, the combination of which led to measurable declines in violence.
In an interview with ABC’s Terry Moran, Obama said that he “did not anticipate, and I think that this is a fair characterization, the convergence of not only the surge but the Sunni awakening in which a whole host of Sunni tribal leaders decided that they had had enough with Al Qaeda, in the Shii’a community the militias standing down to some degrees. So what you had is a combination of political factors inside of Iraq that then came right at the same time as terrific work by our troops. Had those political factors not occurred, I think that my assessment would have been correct.“
Hat Tip Thomas W.
**Bleck**
What a complete a$$hole.
How dare he steal this great success from our military and spin it for his selfish political purposes!
What a creep.
And, here’s the rest of this awful spin…
After witnessing the great progress in Iraq today with hero General David Petraeus, after a three year absence from the region, Barack Obama concluded that he would still oppose the surge of troops.
Unreal.
GOP.com reported:
Today, Obama Said That Even Knowing What He Knows Now, He Would Not Have Supported The Surge:
Obama Told ABC’s Terry Moran That, Despite The Progress That Has Occurred In Iraq, He Would Not Have Supported The Surge. Moran: “‘[T]he surge of U.S. troops, combined with ordinary Iraqis’ rejection of both al Qaeda and Shiite extremists have transformed the country. Attacks are down more than 80% nationwide. U.S. combat casualties have plummeted, five this month so far, compared with 78 last July, and Baghdad has a pulse again.’ If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you — would you support the surge?” Obama: “No, because — keep in mind that -” Moran: “You wouldn’t?” Obama: “Well, no, keep — these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult . Hindsight is 20/20. I think what I am absolutely convinced of is that at that time, we had to change the political debate, because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with.” Moran: “And so, when pressed, Barack Obama says he still would have opposed the surge.” (ABC’s “World News,” 7/21/08)
There is more here.
Someone should have told Prime Minister Maliki to watch his back.
There’s an ambitious and inexperienced Democrat in the room.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) and U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama shake hands as they pose for the media in Baghdad July 21, 2008. (REUTERS/Iraqi Government Office)
They should have sent Barack the video.
He knew what he was going to say before his feet hit the green zone.
What a cad.
HotAir has more including video of Barack’s big adventure.
