Friday, July 18, 2008
Tenth Iraqi Province Handed over to full Iraqi Control
Clearly Obama with his 300 advisors must know this. Yet he still claims there has been "no political progress" in the last year in Iraq. What alternate reality is he living in? Anyone who even reads this ONE blog can see there has been intense reconciliation and progress all over Iraq in the last year.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Coalition forces have handed the Iraqi government control of a province south of Baghdad, reflecting security improvements across the country.
U.S. and Polish forces operated in the mostly Shiite province of Qadisiyah, the tenth of 18 provinces to revert to Iraqi authority. The handover comes as Iraqi officials pressure the United States to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw American forces.
Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the American commander in the provincial capital of Diwaniyah, was at the handover ceremony Wednesday. He said Qadisiyah has made big security gains in the past year, and that local and provincial governments are working well.
Qadisiyah had been the scene of fighting among Shiite factions, and U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a big operation there last year. The handover was delayed from last month.
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In response to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s clear statement in support of a 16-month redeployment from Iraq, a senior McCain official tells Marc Ambinder “[V]oters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders.” A “prominent Republican strategist” who occasionally provides advice to the McCain campaign said more candidly, “We’re f*cked.” Recall, this is what McCain said in 2004:
QUESTION: Let me give you a hypothetical, senator. What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there? I understand it’s a hypothetical, but it’s at least possible.
McCAIN: Well, if that scenario evolves, then I think it’s obvious that we would have to leave because — if it was an elected government of Iraq — and we’ve been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government, then I think we would have other challenges, but I don’t see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people.
ananny:
Obama Wimps Out!... Doesn't Even Bring Up Troop Withdrawal-- Media Spins
"Let's see... Barack Obama voted against the troop surge.
He voted against funding the troops.
He wanted troops out by early 2008.
He didn't care if this caused a genocide.
He called it a civil war-- until he didn't.
He didn't care what conditions were then, or now.
He hadn't been to Iraq in nearly 3 years.
And, then after talking for 2 years about timetables to remove troops from Iraq, Barack Obama goes to Baghdad and wimps out...
He didn't even bring it up with the Iraqi Prime Minister!"
"Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Obama did not mention his pledge to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months if he takes office in talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki."
"..No one favors a permanent U.S. presence, as Senator Obama charges. A partial withdrawal has already occurred with the departure of five “surge” brigades, and more withdrawals can take place as the security situation improves. As we draw down in Iraq, we can beef up our presence on other battlefields, such as Afghanistan, without fear of leaving a failed state behind. I have said that I expect to welcome home most of our troops from Iraq by the end of my first term in office, in 2013.
But I have also said that any draw-downs must be based on a realistic assessment of conditions on the ground, not on an artificial timetable crafted for domestic political reasons. This is the crux of my disagreement with Senator Obama.
Senator Obama has said that he would consult our commanders on the ground and Iraqi leaders, but he did no such thing before releasing his “plan for Iraq.” Perhaps that’s because he doesn’t want to hear what they have to say. During the course of eight visits to Iraq, I have heard many times from our troops what Major General Jeffrey Hammond, commander of coalition forces in Baghdad, recently said: that leaving based on a timetable would be “very dangerous.”
The danger is that extremists supported by Al Qaeda and Iran could stage a comeback, as they have in the past when we’ve had too few troops in Iraq. Senator Obama seems to have learned nothing from recent history. I find it ironic that he is emulating the worst mistake of the Bush administration by waving the “Mission Accomplished” banner prematurely.
I am also dismayed that he never talks about winning the war—only of ending it. But if we don’t win the war, our enemies will. A triumph for the terrorists would be a disaster for us. That is something I will not allow to happen as president. Instead I will continue implementing a proven counterinsurgency strategy not only in Iraq but also in Afghanistan with the goal of creating stable, secure, self-sustaining democratic allies.
John McCain.
right4us
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