Biden on Iraq: ‘It’s Not Like We’re Walking Away’
EmailThe Iraqis have been tested and they are ready to assume control of their country– that was the message from Vice President Joe Biden the morning after the president declared an end to the combat mission in Iraq.
"They have been basically been doing the main responsibility of leading this effort for the last four months," Biden said on "GMA."
"We are also now ramping up our civilian and diplomatic efforts in this country. So it’s not like we're walking away," he told me.
In his speech last night President Obama referred to "an age without surrender ceremonies," – but when I asked Biden if this milestone is a win for the U.S., he said it is "about a change of command and a change of mission."
Biden, who is visiting Iraq during the transition, today attended a ceremony marking the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the beginning of Operation New Dawn.
Although 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country, many Iraqis are concerned that violence will spike following the departure of the combat soldiers. I asked the vice president if Obama would consider sending additional troops back should that occur — but he said the remaining troops can "shoot straight" and are combat ready if necessary.
"We have faith that the Iraqi troops, that our sacrifices have allowed to be trained, are in fact ready and will be increasingly capable of providing total security for this country by the end of next year," Biden said.
Last night Obama reiterated his promise to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan next summer – a promise that Sen. John McCain fiercely opposes. Following the president’s Oval Office address McCain said that announcing the July deadline reinforces "ambiguity" and puts soldiers' lives at risk.
"Look, I respect John but I think John is absolutely wrong," Biden said.
"What we’re saying is that we will begin to transition to Afghani forces. An endless commitment is not a policy…It is as much as a marker for them to step up to the responsibility as it is a marker to the American people that we are going to begin the transition," he said.
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nothing more than political grandstanding on behalf of the administration.
Posted by: Albert | September 1, 2010, 10:11 am 10:11 am
Funny how President Obama did not mention that he used President Bushes framework and timeline to get out of Iraq. If he tries to use this as his victory, etc. he really has gone too far.
Posted by: Jan Saunders | September 1, 2010, 10:30 am 10:30 am
Unfortunately it doesn’t look good for the future of Iraq. You have too many factions. Shites and Sunnis don’t get along. About Iraq, Winston Churchill said, “They just don’t cooperate”. Unlike Germany and Japan where you have civilized people, Iraqis are killing each other daily.
Posted by: Kathy | September 1, 2010, 10:42 am 10:42 am
Did he said General “Betray-us”?… At 3.27-3:30 of the clip.
Posted by: Cj | September 1, 2010, 11:32 am 11:32 am
Of course we’re walking away Joe. We know you’re not the sharpest stick in the pile but come on.
Posted by: Mergerray | September 1, 2010, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
He did say General Betrayus! This guy is an absolute joke when it comes to interviews. At least he admitted we have lowered our military numbers but raised our civilian forces there. ABC hasn’t commented on that at all.
Posted by: lfrichar | September 1, 2010, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm
That’s it joe, just let the enemy know when were quitting. That goes against basic common sense. Everything this administration does goes against common sense. Who did we elecet? What is wrong with these people?
Posted by: LTJ.Dangle | September 1, 2010, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
Funny that Republicans want credit for Iraq and the Surge. Well Republicans you got – Republicans get credit:1)for ignoring our American Intelligence who warned there were NO WMD’s in Iraq,2)for listening to the Iranian Government Informant who told Republicans there were WMD’s in Iraq instead of listening our American Intelligence and the Israeli Intelligence who both said NO WMD’s in Iraq,3)for borrowing money from China making our children’s children indebt to China for a long time4)for promising to help for an Iraqi government 7 years ago and still NO IRAQ GOVERNMENT exist today,5)for doing a surge which was suppose to help form an Iraq Government which still DOES NOT EXIST!6)for not teaching the lesson that government should represent ALL of it’s people to be strong7)for not teaching Iraq the important lesson that a country divided against itself cannot stand.
Posted by: Angie | September 1, 2010, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm
6)for not teaching the lesson that government should represent ALL of it’s people to be strong7)for not teaching Iraq the important lesson that a country divided against itself cannot stand.
Posted by: Angie | Sep 1, 2010 12:36:32 PM
You CANNOT be serious! Our OWN government doesn’t represent ALL of it’s people. Have you not noticed that every bill Obama and HIS Congress have pushed though has been overwhelmingly opposed by the American public?
And your last point about a country divided… take a look around you! We have never been so divided as we are right now. Thanks to YOUR Democratic president. Good grief.
Posted by: Shoe | September 1, 2010, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
angie…blah blah the dems overwhelmingly supported the action but for MAXINE WATERS and a few others. the same intelligence and personnel that was in place during the clinton years.in the end it still cost significantly less than the stimulas and actually created jobs and most of all we did the right thing. how does the taliban treat women? by doing nothing we support the taliban.i kind of like there approach to adultry however.
Posted by: catman | September 1, 2010, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
Angie — Remember, when you follow one party blindly, you are still 50% blind. Keep up with the goofy comments, at least they are funny to read.
Posted by: lfrichar | September 1, 2010, 2:04 pm 2:04 pm
Cant we move up the presidential election to this year and just get all the trash out at one time? What a joke of an administration! It is like a bad soap opera it should be called “The dumb and the hopeless” !
Posted by: No Obama 12 | September 1, 2010, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
If troops get shot and killed, they ARE combat troops… I don’t care how the administration or their enablers in the media spin it.
Tell the dead or wounded Americans daily, that they are not in “combat.”
This is a gross disgrace and insult to the bravest and best our country has to offer!!!
And all are silent… How dare we!
Posted by: CBA | September 1, 2010, 3:17 pm 3:17 pm
I respect the vice president, Joe Biden and the president Barack Obama. I am a Democratic party’s most sincere fan.
Having paid my dues, let me say something that both of these Democratic party stalwarts are playing with words. It is a noble thing to honor our earlier commitment to get our troops out. That promise was given by the previous administration. Particularly, by former president, George W Bush. Obama, merely, followed it thru. If president Bush knew that his solemn promise would result in a chaotic situation, he would have given an ambiguous promise. However he did not. His word was final.
Why are we spin doctoring this promise. When men like Obama and Biden put a spin, it becomes a joke. What happens to the new Iraqi forces and how they perform their duties and obligations is none of our concern.
We cannot be and must not be allowed to speculate on some country’s future. No one can say which way Iraqui democracy would go. It may suffer a while. It may succed later, much later. That is for them to determine.
Our job is done and we must not wnader around in that political mineefield.
Posted by: Sid Harth | September 1, 2010, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
Angie…I’ll give you some advice. Don’t let the “right wing morons” who try to intimidate you,do that. And don’t waste your breath on facts that concern the “concept” of whether we should have been in Iraq or not. If they don’t have a “statistic to quote to win some “smaller part of the discussion”…they get upset and will “call you names”. Shallow people always tend to do that. LOL…LOL You are right. We had no business in that country at all. The ‘surge’ and all those other ‘right wing soundbites”are nothing more than a irrelevant, moot point. Bottom line is this. we lost too many lives (both nations) and money in a war that should not have occurred in the first place.
Posted by: CND FOX | September 1, 2010, 8:14 pm 8:14 pm
My God are the ABC bloggers who are probably funded with stimulus money EVER going to stop trying to shout down the voice of the American people who are trying desperately in vain to SURVIVE the circumstances of a Democrat House, Senate and White House…
YOU guys may be on the payroll and get a check every week, but the rest of the US is UNEMPLOYED!!!
Posted by: CBA | September 1, 2010, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
This is the secont time —-just in case you didn’t hear LOL (read this)the first time.
Nothing like sendig a guy into a gun fight with only a knife.
What the heck is he saying –”That he will not send reinforcement if they are required???
What kind of LEADER did we put in office
Posted by: BillSaidIt | September 2, 2010, 1:02 am 1:02 am