Category Archives: Iraq

Barack Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan

His Record:
-Barack Obama was against the War in Iraq from the very beginning. He was willing to take a bold political stance and buck the bipartisan conventional wisdom in Washington and 60% of the American people to oppose the war. Not only did he oppose it, but he opposed it for prescient reasons, warning of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences”.

-In January 2007, Barack Obama introduced legislation that would responsibly end the war in Iraq, with a phased withdrawal of combat troops.

His plan for Iraq and Afghanistan:

-Barack Obama favors a timeline for withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. This would begin immediately and would involve the removal of 1 to 2 brigades per month until all active combat troops were removed. This timeline would be responsible and would be based on conditions on the ground, in consultation with our military officials on the ground and the Iraqi government.

-Our current policy gives the Iraqi government a blank check for their current lack of action and political will. Only a strict timetable for withdrawal will create the necessary impetus for concessions and power-sharing within the Iraqi government. This will be accompanied with a surge in diplomacy led by the Obama administration to negotiate directly with Iraq’s neighbors to create a stake for them in Iraq’s future. It will also go along with the will of the Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people.

-Withdrawal of troops from Iraq will allow us to focus on the war in Afghanistan, which has been neglected as part of an effort to engage in an unnecessary war in Iraq. The Taliban is resurgent within the country and al-Qaeda has been re-emerging to plot another attack. Our armed forces are already overstretched right now and we should be allocating these scarce resources on the place where it is needed the most.

Statistics to Know:

-The War in Iraq has cost $556, 126, 220, 837 as of 12:46 AM on September 22, 2008 and over 175 million just for Ann Arbor alone
-4148 US soldiers have died in Iraq and 587 have died in Afghanistan
-70% of Iraqis want us to leave, including the Prime Minister

Links: This is a complete list of John McCain’s quotes about uthe handling of the War in Iraq:

This is Barack Obama’s op-ed from the New York Times laying out a complete listing of his policy view on Iraq:

This is after Barack Obama visited Afghanistan and describes his thoughts on it:

Quotes:
“Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.
So when I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on day one: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden- as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.”
—Barack Obama, Clinton, Fayetteville, North Carolina, March 19, 2008

There’s no doubt in my mind that once these people are gone that we will be welcomed as liberators.”- John McCain 3/24/03-Hardball