The Success of the Surge Seemingly Puts Obama on the Defensive

Obama is running around like a chicken without a head. McCain is making him look like a young fool.

Making a major policy speech on Iraq before going there was a major blunder. The GOP will keep harping on this. And he’s never been to Afghanistan.

Why would Obama worry about the facts, He intends to pull out reguardless of the facts. The best way to end the war is to win. I hope Obama will listen to the facts, given how well things are going if pulls out and things go to hell the results will be laid at his feet, but the Iraqi people will have to suffer the consequences. Obama should give G.W. Bush credit for the surge, and promise to see it through if elected. Obama sounds like he is willing to lose at any cost, hoping to blame Bush.

McCain is such an idiot. His decision to go to Iraq War is the reason why Afghanistan is falling apart.
Also, how the hell is McCain going to fight in Afghanistan if we are still in Iraq?
Obama is showing McCain up to be an OLD FOOL.

Obama HAS consulted with Patraeus. That he hasn’t is Rightwing propaganda.
Moreover, thereason thereis less violence is not the surge in troops, but the surge in American Tax dollars being paid to would-be insurgents to stay at home instead,.
We give them money, they don’t blow things up.
And the republicans are against Welfare here in the USA?!! Dumber than a rock.

The surge is working and improvements are now a landmark in Iraq but Obama said “we have lowered the bar, so that it looks like we are making success”. Over the weekend the Obama campaign website changed from “the surge is not working” to “despite the improved security situation, the Iraqi government has not stepped forward to lead the Iraqi people and to reach the genuine political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.” Obama is delusional if he thinks our efforts and the Iraqi efforts are not showing improvement. So many Americans have sacrificed, our families have sacrificed, our military has worked hard to achieve results and Obama can’t give credit to anyone besides himself—he is all knowing. The American GI can be found all over this globe to protect our liberties, and our democracy long after wars have ended. Peace sometimes comes at a cost the only question left to answer is our “freedom” worth the effort?

Obama: They refuse to press the Iraqis to make tough choices, and they label any timetable to redeploy our troops ‘surrender,’ even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government – not to a terrorist enemy.”
——-
If Iraq is not secure, we *would* be turning Iraq over to a terrorist enemy.

Why is it that when O’Carter is held to accountability, his supporters can do nothing but point to McCain?
Could it be that there is really no substance or original thought in the O’Carter spinning wheel of policy?
McCain’s policies have many problems of their own, but why not let the O’Carter plan stand on its own merit instead of trying to redirect criticism?
Liberal, left-wing, bait-and-switch is just a pathetic as the right-wing doing the same thing.

Yes Obama is confused. But what’s new?

Lois, California
Hillary was taken out by the ultra-liberal left. The same people who are begging you to kiss and make up.

Obama: continuing to prove you can fool some of the people all of the time!

People should not be surprised that O’Carter and McCain edit their websites on a regular basis.
In case you haven’t figured this one out, the editing process has a definite order of progression.
Anyone who criticizes O’Carter or McCain is either labeled as having gone too far, unpatriotic, discriminatory, or as a racist.
Then, both campaigns condemn or reject the criticism while making plans for acceptable rebuttal.
Finally, both candidates edit their websites and institute policy revisions to suit the latest polls.
American politics at its finest…

McCain is a grumpy old man who likes to blow things up because they go boom. McCain = WW3.

Obama, who has held zero hearings of the subcommittee on Eurpean affairs, is making it up as he goes. Pathetic.

Senator Obama–sorry for the typo in your name. Will do better next time.

Obama changed his position on the surge? Hes been so consistant up till now.

Aston; Oh I read alright…thats why I know McCain is another Bush and America is doomed if we let that old man in the white house.Obama is right on Iraq and has been all along.

–Angie–I think our getting into Iraq was wrong then and we need to get out as fast as we can. But the reason for my comment is Senator Obama has stated that the Washington people “have lowered the bar” to make it look more successful for the US. Not sure that part is true.
Remember we should support our troops in Iraq even if we don’t support the VIPs in Washington.

Aston: Where did the 9/11 terrorists come from? What terrorists were we going after when we invaded Iraq?

MARY
we do support our troops in iraq and so does sen obama he knows bush put them in harms way now he wants to get them out carefully and hes wrong for that?? as far as afghan is concerned im sorry but he was right thats where bin laden is from as well as taliban how are we going to fight them when most of our military is in iraq??????

If Afghanistan was so important to Senator Obama, why did he not call at least one hearing with the Senate Subcommittee on European Affairs to discuss the direction of this particular war. Are you serious, Obama?
Yeah, right, he really cares..lol. All he cares about is getting elected, but you know what? This is all going to backfire on you. Americans don’t trust your empty rhetoric any more.

Democrats were wrong about the surge, about the bad situation in Iraq being reversible and Democrats were wrong about the war being unwinnable. (Harry Reid famously announced last year that the war was already lost). Most Democrats over the last few years worked actively in Congress to undermine the war effort by trying to cut off funds and limit the President’s effective conduct of the war while they undermined his authority by constant public disparagement. They were wrong. Now Democrats are trying to rewrite history and shift blame even as Mr. Obama cleans his website of “can’t win, surge won’t work” rhetoric. The Democrats have been on the wrong side of history since they were the pro-slavery party. Their solution is always to grow government as they tax small business (the engine of the economy) out of existance, whip up fear in the marketplace and now they want to nationalize the rest. Where have we seen this tactic before?

I think you all better talk to the guys on the front lines in Iraq. They will truthfully tellyou the surge did not help ALL of Iraq. It only afffected small areas. They are using those small areas as an example. Once one area has settled down the insurgents move to another area. Take head….what you see is not always what you get…

CARPENTER
calm down buddy people vote for the right person and thats senator obama they may have made mistakes in their voting with bush two terms but not this year!!!!!!!!!!

jake how come nothing on Obama calling our Law enforcement terrorists at the Mexican gathering?
Well i guess he got away with calling our troops terrorists also!

The Democrats in congress voted to go to war, Obama would of voted to go to war if you look at his record always voting the safe way!
The war was the right decision, but there were flaws in it operation, the military has since fixed that issue and victory is at sight.
But Obama wants to withdraw to destroy our credibility oin the world, will any country ever help us or rise up against dictators if they think the US will not back them or fight to win.
Clinton turned his back and we lost millions of people worldwide!
Carter turned his back and we got Iran!!
Appeasement and cowardice does not work, every war we were in except Vietnam (in my opinion was a mistake) came out of us trying to appease!!
Learn History People!!

Karen; what does it matter if the surge worked or didn’t ..we can argue that all day. 4,000 dead Americans, thousands of Iraqis dead, their country in ruins. Afganistan boiling over with Taleban and Al Queada. People like us were against the invasion from day one. no one had a problem fighting in Afganistan.Bush lied about everything. You want to know when we will victorious in Iraq? When we get the bases we want ,when they agree we can control their air space, when we get the oil agreements. The war was never about WMDS it was always the oil and a permanent foothold in the middle east.

“Lois…Hillary voted to go to war…she made that choice and was a party to get us in there in the first place. Do you call that good judgement?”
Posted by: militarymom | Jul 15, 2008 3:37:28 PM
_______________
Based on the input she received from Bush and the effect of the attack on her state….. I can understand why she would have acted as she did.
And, bear in mind, Hillary was not the only one….but one of MOST who voted this way.
Had she been politicising at an anti-war event, she probably would have voted against it.
What’s your point?

About the only time Obama doesn’t flip-flop, he just plows ahead with his mistaken opinions and misrepresentations of the facts. The surge has indeed worked, whereas Obama predicted it wouldn’t. Ok, he was wrong there. But now he is insisting that the surge HASN’T worked; I guess he has a hard time dealing with reality.
One thing I’ve never heard from Obama is (a) why the war was “wrong” (other than the statement that Iraq was not “an imminent threat”, which is true, and which Bush addressed many times) and (b) what would have been his approach (other than sipping tea with dictators like Ahmadinijad) to combating the terrorist threat.
Obama really does not have a clue as to what is necessary to protect the country (which is, after all, the President’s primary responsibility). In this matter, he is like most of the Democratic party leadership, who are willing to pretend there is not terrorist threat just to try to get a political advantage against the Republicans in the elections.

Why is the press ignoring Obama’s open calls of escalating our forces in afghanistan, and instead focusing on a withdrawal from Iraq?
Is Afghanistan going better than Iraq?
If he is going to increase our actions in Afghanistan, shouldn’t he give a timetable, and exit strategy?
what does victory look like? how much does it cost?
Does anyone believe that we will have our troops out of Afghanistan before Iraq?
btw-how many of the 9/11 hijackers were from Pakistan or Afghnistan?

It makes no difference how often you spread the lie; and how many people you are able to convince the lie is true; but to say that we invaded Iraq SOLELY because President Bush claimed that Iraq had WMDS is a LIE NONE THE LESS.
We invaded Iraq because President Bush terminated the 1991 cease fire which was predicated on Saddam Hussein complying with several conditions. Conditions with which Saddam Hussein failed to comply for 12 years. The UN Security Council issued its final ultimatum. But when it became clear that the UN Security Council would not follow through on its ultimatum, President Bush issued his own final ultimatum. When Saddam Hussein still refused to comply with the conditions of the 1991 cease fire, President Bush kept his word. He ordered the invasion with the authority of the UN mandate AND the approval of the U. S. Congress and in accordance with Congress’ 1998 authorization for regime change in Iraq.
The fact that there were no WMDs is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. One of the conditions of the 1991 cease fire — to which Saddam Hussein agreed in total — was if Iraq no longer had WMDs or WMD programs, they had to PROVE they no longer had WMDs or had dismantled their programs. Saddam Hussein NEVER proved that he no longer had WMDs, nor attempted to comply with any of the other conditions of the cease fire. So after 12 years of diplomatically trying to convince Saddam Hussein, President Bush decided that was long enough and terminated the cease fire.

Obama is a just a man without substance, flip-flopping (lying) his way to oblivion.
Hopefully this will put a fork in the liberals.

Obama is like the George Bush the Dems used to complain about: stubborn and refusing to admit error. The New Sun King: L’Etat, C’est moi!

If some of the hand-wringing whimpering cowards posting here had the courage of a mouse and the patriotism of Cassius Clay they’d join the armed forces and find out first-hand how things are going in Iraq.
According to every G.I. who has returned from duty in Iraq with whom I’ve spoken,& that’s approximately a
score of them, each & every one has said things are progressing much better than the American anti-war news media is willing to admit.

Anyone notice that Obama is double-dipping on Iraq? On the economy, he says that the dollar has weakened because of Iraq, and he has a point, as we have added hundreds of billions in deficit spending. BUT, Obama then says he will fund many programs using the “savings” from ending the Iraq war. For Obama, all arguments and all solutions are based on Iraq, but sometimes it doesn’t add up.

Sharon, are we not still in Germany; still in Japan; still in South Korea? Iran has to think long and hard should it want to invade Iraq with American troops still in Iraq. Once we are gone, Iran knows that the Iraqi military could not prevent Iran from invading. I’m not saying that Iran will invade if we leave. I am only saying that the region will be more stablized with Americans in Iraq. Isn’t that the reason we have remained in Germany, Japan and South Korea?

Obama’s speech today represents exactly why he is our best choice for president. Instead of simplifying the issues down to ‘did the surge work or not’, he has the intelligence and discernment to ask us to think in bigger terms. While the rest of the political environment (opponents and MSM) continue to treat us like 5th graders who can only think critically about one aspect of an arguement, Barack Obama spoke to us like adults and with a fearless honesty. My vote is cast….

mark l.
the difference is …we have not spent trillions in afghanistan with a check book open with a lot of zero’s written in and no signature yet…
Afghanistan did not have the internal oil war potential that iraq has waiting for it…
or share half of the main world center for al quaeda…
you know the guys who attacked us?

Soetoro No!
Do you read anything
OBAMA SAID over and OVER that the surge would reduce “violence”
but that was not the point of the surge…
and that is the fact that a lot of stupid people don’t get…
of course violence can go down when we spend trilions and lots of military on the area…
The surge was supposed to set up a government so we could leave.
but quickly that was co-opted by Mccain to say as long as no soldiers are dying…
well we can not afford it…
and the insurgents who joined up to help did so under the guise of a lie.
they were promised money and power when we leave.
Positions and money that can’t exist.
oy are you people easily fooled no wonder we went in in the first place.
ugh

riley
McCain is the new version of Bush
this out of touch idea that you have to understand the culture may not work
can you imagine someone trying to make the us and iran work under the same government?
how about russia and china?
they can exist under the same government if you have despot with iron fist.
these tribes have warred for centuries… there religious reasons for warring have predominantly stayed in tact.
now we bring in oil…which is in an area which one tribe oversees fro the most part and the other tribe wants.
NOw prop up these tribes talking to each other with an occupation…
what would have to happen for them to get along?
well almost none of those things have happened…even though the McCain and Bush people would like you to believe the “surge was successful”
this is stupid.

mark l.
if yuo do not concede that the terrorist group that attacked us is along the border of AFGHANISTAN and PAKISTAN
then there is no point to this discussion.
We went in to afghanistan that has a governemnt already…
it’s issues are a smaller minority that would like to retake the government…
multiple warlords (a lot different than a situation with two differing religious tribes with an oil issue) who prey on and keep “economies” up with drug trafficking.
One or two brigades is nothing compared to what we have in Iraq…especially with it being countries with the “group” that attacked us and is growing exponentially since we went into Iraq.
oh but that’s right you want to debate but not acknowledge that the people who attacked us were al quaeda and they are running things from….the border of afghanistan and pakistan.
so please if you don’t get that

“if yuo do not concede that the terrorist group that attacked us is along the border of AFGHANISTAN and PAKISTAN”
the locationis accurate, the ethnicity is waay wrong…
here’s small hx lesson:
ubl is not a native of Afghanistan. While he fought with the indigenous mujahedeen against Soviets, his ‘army’ were all foreign fighters.
Two days prior to 9/11, he killed the leader of the indigenous mujahedeen, in an attmept to consolidate his own power in country.
to concede that the terrorist group that attacked us is in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is like saying the US army was german, when they fought in Germany.
If things get rough, these foreign born fighters walk home for the the winter/duration, recruit, return in the spring…
repeat the cycle as long as you want, for however much you want to spend, and how many soldiers you want to die in place that holds no value, other than as a battlefield.
What about the two embassy bombings in Africa? Al-Queda isn’t there anymore? sSoldiers are the LEAST effective means of fighting them.
If Obam doesn’t like Iraq, waht’s to love about Afghanistan?

dl-
‘The nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine … is the Iraqi field.’ He urged Palestinians and people of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to ‘help in support of their mujahideen brothers in Iraq which is the greatest opportunity and the biggest task.’”
-osama bin laden.
If you could offer a video tape message of his, that is a call to arms for Afghanistan/Pakistan at this level…
you’d make your opposition to Iraq, and advocacy of Afghanistan more coherent than your candidate’s postion.

Obama THE KING of FLIP FLOP!!!!
Obama is like the flavor of the week, what will his flavor be next week????

Obama
JANUARY 08: “I Welcome The Genuine Reductions Of Violence That Have Taken Place, Although I Would Point Out That Much Of That Violence Has Been Reduced Because There Was An Agreement With Tribes In Anbar Province.” In a debate, Obama said, “I had no doubt, and I said at the time when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence. But understand, we started in 2006 with intolerable levels of violence and a dysfunctional government. We saw a spike in the violence. The surge reduced that violence, and we now are, two years later, back where we started two years ago. We have gone full circle at enormous cost to the American people.I welcome the genuine reductions of violence that have taken place, although I would point out that much of that violence has been reduced because there was an agreement with tribes in Anbar province — Sunni tribes — who started to see, after the Democrats were elected in 2006, you know what, the Americans may be leaving soon, and we are going to be left very vulnerable to the Shi’as. We should start negotiating now. That’s how you change behavior.” [Debate, 1/5/08 ]

I will like to see what you all will make of the surge when it starts to unravel. The was a time everyone said Afghanistan was all rosy and dandy. I think that we ahould all pause and wonder if this country is being out manuevered by a rag tag outfit like al-qaeda. You whack them in Afghanistan they pop up in Iraq, you whack them in Iraq, they pop up in Afghanistan, you whack them in….

Thank you Barack hussein Obama,because of your great leadership,the USA,the most powerfull ion on earth will be leaving Irack with its tail between its legs.From there on,the USA has nowhere to go but down!Again,thanks.

Surge, no surge, surge – it will perhaps be of little interest to Americans to hear from a European, but the general feeling here is that McCain is just another weary old military guy whose mindset is concrete. With Obama, maybe America can become a proud leader of the so-called Free World instead of being a perpetuator of violence and occupation. Japan, Germany, etc etc – years after WW2 Americans still maintain bases of aggression in countries all over the world…(even Scotland, believe it or not). Meantime, your society lags ridiculously high in such significant social areas as infant birth deaths, illiteracy, homicides by gun, life expectation, social welfare. (Even Cuba comes off better than the US, with almost a 100 percent literacy rate and enough doctors to send to needy countries.) Just think, get off the triggerhappy bandwagon and infuse your society with the obscene sums of money your military devours, and perhaps the American dream could replace what has become an American nightmare. Unemployment, foreclosures, impoverishment – and yet you have resources enough to feed a planet…Something’s wrong, badly wrong.
You’ve lost your way in thickets of fear and dread…where is that American spirit?

Please stop with the distortions about McCain’s 100 years comment. We’ve had troops in Korea, Japan and Germany for 60 years, for strategic reasons and that’s all McCain meant. He specifically mentioned “as long as their not being attacked and killed” even. So to say McCain would kill “thousands more of our troops” is an outright dishonest lie!!!
Why can’t Libs have an honest discussion ever???

What’s wrong with the people writing these comments? If you don’t have a President that will change his mind on subjects you have another Bush. The word flip flop is not bad as long as you are using the correct judgement. If Bush was a flip flopper US would be a better place. Some people are ignorant. McCain has change his position so many times how could he call someone a flip flopper. Watch once debates starts you will see the one who really flip flops

I repeat…..Like the GAO says,the surge is not successful. Too many of the important goals have not been meant. When will you guys get it straight?

Let’s review some history. The ‘surge’ started in March and was fully in place in June. It was not until September that violence started to decrease. The reason? Al Sadr declared a cease-fire on Aug 29 after Shia v Shia violence in Kerbala killed 50. By this time, most of the ethnic cleansing in Baghdad was complete. So to claim that the surge reduced violence in misleading and historically inaccurate.

I see John McCain as serving one term and he is just the person for this time in America. This is not the time for learning on the job. As a conservative, black independent, it is strikingly obvious that Barack Obama is very uncertain about his true beliefs and core values. His campaign appears to be in indecision mode for the past 6 weeks. I do believe the democrats have been led to believe Obama is the stronger candidate because a large number of non democrats voted for him.
Is it possible that much of his funding came from Republicans who hated the Clintons and whon woudl never vote for Obama? And is it possible, the stratgey was to build up Obama so he could be the nominee because indeed he is the weaker candidate? Is this nation really ready to give the code for the nukes to an inexperience, tempermental unkown as Barackn Obama? John MCcain patriotism was never questionable. Until Barack Obama admits it was a mistake to seek the counsel of an unrepentant terrorist, Bill Ayers, I think he will very likely not be the next President.

The Iraq war is winding down and the next president can assist Iraq into the Japan of the middle east or abandon it into the Vietnam of the middle east. Sadly, McCain does not clearly aim for the first and Obama obviously aims for the later! Perhaps the media has bashed Iraq as Bush’s mistake for so long that America has lost her optimism to succeed. Iraq is at a cross-road and will be the ally or stranger the US wills it to be.

Facts have been and remain meaningless to Barack Obama and his devotees.
As for his plan to withdraw the U.S. from Iraq in 16 months? Not even the generals says that’s possible.
But, hey, what does that matter to Obama? Mr. Insincerity announced his plan for Iraq before even getting to Iraq to meet with the generals.
Of course, he’s relying on his crack military advisers back here–and his extensive knowledge of strategy, tactics, logistics and international relations. Wrong.
And, yes, this is a pro forma photo op. Nothing more. Thing is, he actually thinks no one can see that.

We stayed in Germany/Europe because of the threat of the USSR. There is no similar threat in the Middle East. I’m sure someone will try to repackage missing WMD, or Photoshopped Iranian missiles as a threat. Sorry kids, there’s no threat.
The Iraqis wanted us out ASAP in 2003, and as we have seen again in 2008. This makes perfect sense. But in a US election year, a war started for political purposes again becomes a set piece for the next act of political theater.
That Obama is “flip-flopping” is another invention of the GOP. They need something to complain about, I suppose.
One interesting thing about the GOP and the mad drive to “stay the course”: if they were football coaches, they’d lose every game. As we all know, teams that have the ability to assess and make adjustments at halftime tend to win. As fans, we look forward to it.
Many of the great generals and tacticians we read about achieved their victories by changing course. But not the great modern GOP politicians
If these guys were lost, would they have the brains to stop and ask for directions? Or would they just continue in the wrong direction because asking for directions is “flip-flopping?”

Well.. I think that both McCain and Obama distort the truth significantly. None of them is bright, and self-consistent. I can smell the decline of the US foreign policy, if any of these two guys continue G.W’s legacy.
I do not agree with McCain on abortion but I think that he seems to be a more honest man in general. He is like a nice grandpa, though Obama does not do anything for me!

Having Obama as Commander in Chief would be analogous to having a 6 year old girl as the head coach of the New England Patriots. Come on libs, grow up and vote for a President, vote John McCain.

The failure of Obama to make the right decision in support of the surge which has produced numerous benefits to different parts of our operations in Iraq…..so now we are supposed to follow Obama into Afghanistan and Pakistan, have unconditional talks with Iran, etc? Who is he kidding?

The surge is working … another media invention. The same people who got this war in Iraq wrong are now claiming throwing additional troops in Iraq a success.
The people who got the war in Iraq right are again being ignored.
Violence is down in Iraq …why … Sunni in Anbar provence decided … as they had decided before Bush and McCain invaded Iraq and allowed Alquaida to come in to Iraq … to throw Alquaida out … nothing to do with the surge.
Violence is down in Iraq … why … two million Iraqis are in neighboring countries as refugees and those neighborhoods in Iraq that were mixed have been ethnicly cleansed … again nothing to do with the surge.
There’s a word in our office for people who take credit for things other people do … putz comes to mind.

WHo knew. Baghdad IS Iraq. Or not. Baghdad is secure but about half the nation is NOT. The surge was NOT supposed to be about securing Baghdad alone. It was to secure the COUNTRY, that includes restoring the basic services that many areas still don’t have, get the Iraqi government working, and we get out.
From what I can see, as usually, the Republicans moved the goal post and the MSM went along, failing to do do its own research and recall why we did it in the first place.