"I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work."-- Chris Mathews, "Hardball" host and President-elect Barack Obama's mainstream media representative.
Playing War Politics overseas is in poor formObama tried to stall GIs' Iraq Withdrawal
Amir Taheri
Last updated: 4:10 am
September 15, 2008
Posted: 4:02 am
September 15, 2008
WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.
"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.
Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."
"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.
Though Obama claims the US presence is "illegal," he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the "weakened Bush administration," Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.
While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a "realistic withdrawal date." They declined.
Obama has made many contradictory statements with regard to Iraq. His latest position is that US combat troops should be out by 2010. Yet his effort to delay an agreement would make that withdrawal deadline impossible to meet.[More]
If true, and all indication seems to be that it is, Obama’s shameless attempt to keep American troops in Iraq for political gain must be exposed to the whole country. And he should drop out of the presidential race immediately.
Maybe the MSM can spare a reporter or two out of the dozens who have flocked to Wasilla and Anchorage to dig up dirt on Alaska Governor and Republican running mate Sarah Palin to look into Obama’s alleged treachery.
Like that’s gonna happen.
"Suppose, for example, you're a voter, and you've got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don't think that person can deliver on anything. Candidate Y disagrees with you on half the issues, but you believe that on the other half the candidate will be able to deliver. For whom will you vote?"
MINNshoot
er
SE, MN
paleocon
Rochester, MN
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 12:22:11 AM
“The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden is one of the most influential foreign policy voices in Congress. An internationalist and strong supporter of the United Nations, he is a leading critic of what he sees as the vague, unilateralist approach of President Bush.
“Biden voted in 2002 to authorize the Iraq invasion, which Obama opposed from the start. Since then, he’s become a firm critic of the conflict and pushed through a resolution last year declaring that Bush’s troop increase—now considered a military success—was ‘not in the national interest.’”
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92NPG8G0&show;_article=1
Joe “I’m Not the Guy” Biden, man of questionable judgment.
stormchas
er27
Claremont, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 12:53:19 AM
If Obama gets elected, this country is going to suffer big time. Not that McCain is much better, but anything is better than a Democrat.
Thorstein
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 12:55:17 AM
Senator Biden brings to the table a wealth of foreign policy experience, knowledge and legislative ability. He is one of a few senators and representatives who have published well thought out plans for ending Bush’s fiasco in Iraq. Whether one agrees with the plan or not, it is a plan not a bumper sticker.
In contrast to Biden’s plan, John McCain wants to duke it out to the end with any Iraqi’s who want the American occupying army out.
Senator McCain, by the way, has not quite come to grips with the fact that even our friend Mr Maliki wants the US out within the time line suggested by Mr Obama. Mr McCain’s vision of indefinite occupation apparently does not sit well with the Iraqis.
Mr McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser is a dedicated neocon who was an early pusher for invading Iraq and, until recently, was a paid lobbyist for the government of Georgia, the country Russian just invaded. I wonder what the neocon adviser is not suggesting to Mr McCain?
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Thorstein
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 1:30:52 AM
Paleocon - McCain needs a few gifts. Perhaps a course in anger management, how to control your temper, maybe a course in polite ways to express yourself without swear words would be a good Christmas gifts for the guy.
Some kind, loving conservative patron, perhaps an oil company, might want to gift Mr McCain a course in memory development so that he can remember which countries no longer exist, who Sunni and Shittes are and how they interact in Iraq. And while I do not like to delve into personal information, I do think a presidential candidate should at least be able to remember how many houses he and his spouse own. I don’t care how many he owns, but it does bother me that McCain doesn’t know.
paleocon
Rochester, MN
ThereIsNo
God
Rochester, Mn
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 4:06:43 AM
Wrong as usual, grasshopper.
Biden is a joke. I’m counting the seconds until Biden’s first bout with diarrhea of the mouth as the Obamafraud’s running mate. I was thinking that Obama couldn’t have made a worse pick for running mate than Biden but then I remembered the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Obama’s choice of Biden for running mate is an admission of weakness. It’s like the Obamafraud’s campaign is telling the American electorate that it’s alright to vote for the inexperienced, clueless George Soros puppet Obama because the “seasoned” Biden has been a “fixture” in Washington for 30 years and wouldn’t let the Obamafraud screw up.
Don’t worry, America. Biden will hold Obama’s hand during the day and answer that 3:00 a.m. crisis phone call Hillary talked about during the Democratic primary after he tucks the Obamachild into bed at night.
Time for the Lord Barack “Slum King Rezko Financed My Obamamansion” Obama the Divine to pack it in. I wonder if his “community organizer” job is still open.
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 4:08:24 AM
“When the news broke shortly before midnight, Wilson was still waiting for her cell phone to beep with a text message from the Obama campaign about his choice of running mate. But word that Biden had been tapped was already being reported on television news.”
Ha ha ha. Suckers.
Thorstein
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 5:27:19 AM
Speaking of “diarrhea of the mouth,” I wonder if Paleocon reads his own dribble.
There are pros and cons to the selection of Senator Biden as a running mate, and even now that Barak Obama has made his choice many will chime in with their opinions.
Unfortunately, there are some who would reduce discussion to inflammatory nonsense, nasty, mean spirited words with no intellectual content.
anonymous
too
rochester, mn
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 6:43:21 AM
It seems strange that there is no mention of the severe brain damage Biden suffered not to long ago.
Will this affect his decision making?
Is this what causes him to make sometimes strange statements?
Is this the reason he said osama is not ready to serve?
Is biden another Eagleton?
Just wondering why this was not mentioned by the PB.
artista
rochester, mn
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 7:26:02 AM
Oh please...Biden’s aneurysm was in 1988, twenty years ago. Wonder what McCain’s reason is for not being able to remember how many houses he owns, or his uncontrollable potty mouth and temper. He’s just a walking time bomb disguised behind a fake milquetoast exterior of “my friends”.
Rochester
_Gadfly
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 8:04:03 AM
“Obama’s superb judgment?” Ha. I love it. Obama and Co. pounced on Biden’s “clean” comment calling him a racist and running him out of the race, now when he needs someone to balance his ticket everything’s hunky-dory? Yea, give the right one more thing to use against Obama, that’s good judgment ...
rvnsea
Rochester, MN
larryboy
West End Town, DE
sbintn
Murfreesboro, TN
anonymous
too
rochester, mn
Mrs_C
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 9:40:19 AM
The selection of Sen. Joe Biden as BArack Obama’s VP choice is an excellent.
Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden have a good relationship in the Senate working together. She is already on board for the Obama campaign and her supporters will be also.
Nor will Biden be any push over for whomever McCain selects.
Presidential Debates, VP Debates...Bring it on!!!
irishman
Rochester, Mn
Patriot
Mazeppa, MN
pcwerk
rochester, mn
sbintn
Murfreesboro, TN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 10:26:37 AM
I think a governor from the south or west such as Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas might have been a better choice.
Biden does bring foreign policy experience but Obama now has problems with the whole “Change” theme. Biden is a Washington and Democrat insider. In addition, Biden voted for the war in Iraq and against the surge. The problem with voting against the surge, is that most voters are feeling like it worked.
Biden also has a history of saying things that are not politically helpful. In particular, during the last parimary season and directed against Obama.
Finally is the “Clinton” factor. This choice really seems to cut the Clintons out of the Democrat power structure. In addition, if Obama is elected this year he will be the nominee in 2012. This will mean Hillary and her supporters will have to look forward to 2016 for her next chance to run and she would probably be to old. I really don’t think Bill and Hillary are ready to give up on her quest for the White House. Her best chance at the oval office is for McCain to be elected this year. I don’t think her efforts to support McCain and sabotage Obama will be obvious but It will be there. I suspect that it might have been better if the Obama people would have at least given the appearance that they were considering Hillary. I know they have said that they “vetted” her during the primary but that came out so late that now it sounds like an excuse to cover up the fact that they never did consider her.
larryboy
West End Town, DE
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 10:50:34 AM
“A great pick! The only choice for the working stiffs of this country!!”
Hey! Don’t forget John “Baby Daddy” Edwards. There’s a pro-union guy. When he is not cheating on his terminally ill wife, that is.
Face it, libs. Biden is there to shore up the Obamafraud’s experience bona fides, of which there are none. Biden’s selection is actually an admission by the Obamessiah’s puppet masters that their political Buddha has no political experience whatsoever to justify a run for the presidency of the United States of America.
So the candidate of “change” is reduced to selecting a running mate who has been a “fixture” in Washington for 30 years.
How pathetic.
sinbob
Rochester, Mn
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:07:14 AM
“I think a governor from the south or west such as Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas might have been a better choice.”
I’m with you on this one, sbintn. As I chronicled early this morning at http://paleoconstrikes.blogspot.com/2008/08/christmas-in-august-msm-reporting-obama.html:
“A smart Democratic nominee-in-waiting would have picked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius, a “moderate” by liberal standards, as his running mate. But then again, the Obamessiah may have figured he would alienate Saint Hillary’s supporters if he chose a female running mate other than the megalomaniacal former First Lady.”
Undermining Obama has become trickier for Hillary now that Biden is his running mate, however. She will need to be stealthier than ever to take over Jesse Jackson’s job of cutting Obama’s you-know-whats out.
You say,
“I suspect that it might have been better if the Obama people would have at least given the appearance that they were considering Hillary.”
Hillary, more than anyone in politics, understands the difference between symbolism and substance. I actually think that it would have been more offensive and more disrespectful to pretend to vet her while having no intention of picking her as running mate.
And I think that Obama’s puppet masters knew that vetting Hillary would “obligate” them to choose her in the eyes of the MSM and her fanatical supporters.
Bob R
Rochester, mn
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:08:07 AM
Biden is perfect for VEEP! The best attack dog in the democratic kennels. He is a big mouth that will tear McSame apart in novel and gorgeous ways.
McCain is a billionaire elitist who thinks no American would pick lettuce for $50/hr - he said this in 2006. McBush thinks that only someone who makes $5 million a year is wealthy. McOilshill does not remember the last time he pumped his own gas. All this and more will flow from Joe Biden with fitting derision and outrage.
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:14:50 AM
True. Biden is a loud mouth and a bully. Maybe it has to do with his brain aneurysms, I don’t know.
Brain damage seem to be a perfect explanation for Biden’s irrational temper and verbal incontinence.
Bob R
Rochester, mn
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:21:47 AM
I can’t wait for McInsane to have a PTSD episode in a debate with Obama. It seems when tumors are being removed from McInsane every couple of months, they remove his brain bits that contain facts about the difference between Shia and Sunni, or where exactly Iraq is with relation to Pakistan, or how many houses he has, or that he was against the Jim Webb GI Bill, or that it is the most vile thing a human can do to cheat on your wife as she’s dying of cancer - all the stuff we will be hearing Joe Biden talking about in the coming days.
sbintn
Murfreesboro, TN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:24:02 AM
Lies, nothing but right wing neocon lies, Paleocon.
You said So the candidate of “change” is reduced to selecting a running mate who has been a “fixture” in Washington for 30 years.
He was elected in ‘72 and took office January 3, 1973. It looks like he has been a fixture for pretty close to 36 years.
C’mon let’s give the guy all the credit we can.....
Thelen
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:24:35 AM
The selection of Senator Biden as his running mate just illustrates how desperate Obama is to find some foreign policy credibility for his ticket.
It is an interesting mix of “credibility”, however. Voting for the war in Iraq and then voting against the surge, which has proven to be the most successful strategy of the war, doesn’t do much to qualify you as a foreign policy expert.
I guess his years of sitting at Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings and mugging for the cameras is enough to qualify you as a Democratic foreign policy expert.
You do have to give the guy credit for his honesty, however.
As Biden has noted: “I would say, quite frankly, its awfully hard not to be qualified on foreign policy and be president in this environment.”
Little wonder Biden found Obama unqualified to be president, at least until he scored the vice presidential nod.
The other interesting point about the Biden selection is the total lack of ideological diversity he brings to the ticket.
Both he and Obama cling to the extreme left of the political spectrum. He’ll appeal to exactly the same political demographic as Obama already does.
You can find evidence of that by which bloggers on this site are praising his selection. Their need for ideological purity has been satisfied.
paleocon
Rochester, MN
Posted on 8/23/2008 at 11:31:36 AM
36 years in Washington equals change in the liberal mind. It would seem that brain damage is a common occurrence in the liberal camp.
“Both he and Obama cling to the extreme left of the political spectrum. He’ll appeal to exactly the same political demographic as Obama already does.
“You can find evidence of that by which bloggers on this site are praising his selection. Their need for ideological purity has been satisfied.”
Welcome back, Thelen. Biden’s selection as the Obamafraud’s running mate seems to have finally pushed liberals over the ideological precipice.
