Biden campaign congratulates Obama for allegedly disingenuous, "Johhny-Come--Lately" position

[draft_mario_cuomo]

Wow, this was harsh...

The most stinging part is the last paragraph: “We find it a little disingenuous that Sen. Obama is hailing this as a new bold initiative when he has neglected to join his colleagues in the Senate when the opportunities have been there to redirect our forces into Afghanistan” said Biden for President Campaign Manager Luis Navarro. “It’s good to see Sen. Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but this can hardly be considered bold leadership.”

==Wilmington, DE (August 1st, 2007 ) – The Biden for President Campaign today congratulated Sen. Barack Obama for arriving at a number of Sen. Biden’s long-held views on combating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Much of what Senator Obama has proposed Senator Biden has already initiated or accomplished.

Senator Biden was the co-author of the Afghanistan Freedom and Support Act of 2002 that authorized the original reconstruction and security assistance for Afghanistan. Since 2005, he has repeatedly called for significantly increasing reconstruction assistance. He is the lead co-author with Senator Hagel of the new Afghan Freedom and Support Act of 2007 which will be introduced in September and will authorize significantly increased reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan.

As part of the 9/11 bill that passed Congress last week, Senator Biden and Representative Lantos wrote the law that conditions aid to Pakistan on its cooperation with the United States in combating Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Before writing the law, Biden wrote to President Musharraf and Secretary Rice making clear his intent to do so.

Starting in January, Senator Biden has repeatedly called for surging more forces out of Iraq and into Afghanistan.

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on January 30th, 2007, Sen. Biden discussed the need for a surge in Afghanistan at Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing.

Sen. Biden said to Ambassador John Negroponte, “And if we're going to surge anywhere, Mr. Ambassador, you will probably hear from some on the committee beyond me, but you'll clearly hear on the Senate floor, we think that surge should be Afghanistan, not Iraq, where the Taliban appears to be making a serious comeback. So there may be some questions about Afghanistan, as well.”

At this same hearing, Sen. Obama asked two questions - he did not address Afghanistan or Al Qaeda or Taliban. T he first was on the topic of Iran; the second was on an issue that he admitted “seems somewhat parochial, but I think, as you'll see, is of concern across the world.” Obama discussed the “stunning level of mercury in fish” and asked about a proposal for the U.S. adopt a ban on mercury sales abroad?

Similarly on March 8th, Sen. Biden convened a hearing on a new strategy for Afghanistan: Repeated Call for Troop Surge to Eradicate Taliban. In his opening statement Sen. Biden said, “Success in Afghanistan is still possible ... if we surge forces anywhere, it should be in Afghanistan, not Iraq.” http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/testimony/2007/BidenStatement070308.pdf, 3/8/07>

At this hearing, Sen. Obama asked one question that was unrelated to Taliban or Afghanistan. Addressing Retired General James Jones Jr., Obama asked, “General, thanks for the very useful testimony. I want to focus on where both of you ended up, and Ambassador Dobbins, as well, and that's on the issue of Pakistan. Given your history there, your relationship with both the Pakistani military on the ground, as well as their government, can you give me a sense of what their strategic objectives are, and what we can do to encourage them to be more aggressive or more cooperative in the efforts? I tend to agree with the ambassador's point that, if we pretend that we're going to do things here that we're not going to do, that's not particularly effective, and that sanctions may not be particularly effective. On the other hand, we need to encourage a different approach on their part. Any thoughts on that?”

Sen. Biden has been talking about this for over 6 months. Dating back to January 5th, Sen. Biden said America Should Surge Troops in Afghanistan. He told the Washington Post, "If we're surging troops anywhere, it should be in Afghanistan," Biden said. Adding troops there would give the United States "the moral high ground" in its quest for more forces from NATO allies.

“We find it a little disingenuous that Sen. Obama is hailing this as a new bold initiative when he has neglected to join his colleagues in the Senate when the opportunities have been there to redirect our forces into Afghanistan” said Biden for President Campaign Manager Luis Navarro. “It’s good to see Sen. Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but this can hardly be considered bold leadership.”==

http://www.joebiden.com/newscenter/pressreleases?id=0133

[Mass]

1. Biden is pathetic - He knows perfectly well that Obama has proposed that many times before...

Here is one of the speech in question, and it was definitively not the latest.

http://obama.senate.gov/speech/061120-a_way_forward_i/

I understand that Biden must feel desperate because the MSM ignores his experience and refuses to consider him a serious candidate and pushes the candidates who have a big star power. But that does not justify pure lies.

[jillan]

5. Then you should be glad Kerry didn't win in 2004

He trusted Biden's foreign relations experience to pick him for his SOS.

[Mass]

6. What does one have to do with the other? I am sure that, had Kerry decided to run,

Biden would be blasting him the same way for no good reason. This is called politics. I had just hoped that Biden was more responsible and would not play this game. We need an adult at the table, not a kid, and what Biden and Navarro said today in the excerpt you quote is clearly a lie. This does not mean that Biden does not have a large foreign policy experience that Biden has.

[jillan]

14. Then why are you calling Biden pathetic?

In the statement from his campaign, there is an example there where Obama - who sits on the SFRC had an opportunity
to question Amb Negroponte in a hearing about Afghanistan, and didn't ask one question about it.
And the campaign sites another hearing about Afghanistan where Obama didn't have anything to ask.


To me, Obama looks desperate. Hillary attacked him last week and it seems like he was out to prove he was tough.
Well good, I am glad Obama is finally saying something other that "we can change the world", even tho I have an issue with some of the things he said.

I am glad that we are having this debate. Because just like in 2004, I want a candidate that knows their stuff.
Foreign relations has to be the number one priority in this election.

"As part of the 9/11 bill that passed Congress last week, Senator Biden and Representative Lantos wrote the law that conditions aid to Pakistan on its cooperation with the United States in combating Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Before writing the law, Biden wrote to President Musharraf and Secretary Rice making clear his intent to do so."
This is what I am talking about. This is what I want from my President.


(edit for typo)

[karynnj]

10. Though Kerry likely respects Biden, he has his own foreign policy experience

and though he and Biden sometimes agree - they sometimes don't. Two easy examples are:

- Biden voted against Kerry/Feingold

- Kerry has consistently taken issue with the Biden/Gelb plan - saying that if a division is the right answer, it should not be imposed by the west.

Her point is correct in that MANY people have made the observation that Afghanistan/Pakistan is where we need to fight Al Qaeda. Kerry, not Biden, was the person who in early 2002 criticized Bush for outsourcing the capture of OBL to Afghan warlords. Biden in 2002 did not back him up. Seeing that OBL is there and they are reconstituting training camps, it is a no-brainer to say that most, if not all< Democrats agree.

What may be a problem is that at a time where Pakistan is at least nominally working with us, it may not be prudent for any politicians to speak of attacking in Pakistan if they don't. What is better is a Dodd amendment which is a sense of the Senate resolution that seeks to make more military aid conditional to their doing more counter terrorism. (Kerry and Biden are co-sponsors)

[jillan]

12. Kerry might want to take another look at Biden's Plan for Iraq

since it is already being implemented.
And about Biden in 2002 not backing Kerry up - you may not have been aware that Biden was
in Afghanistan working to find out where OBL went after we blew it in Tora Bora. He totally agreed with Kerry,
everyone did.

All Biden said today was that it is not smart to announce that we will invade. That Musharraf could take that as a threat.



Don't get me wrong. I am not critising Kerry. I still support Kerry.
I see both him and Biden as two of the brightest on foreign relations.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

13. Biden is right. The fundies in Pakistan just got a bit stronger today nt

[karynnj]

16. Biden's plan is Not currently being implemented

though there are many who, in desperation, have moved to support it. I agree with the answers Kerry has given - that any partion should be the result of the Iraqis making that decision. Iraq has a colonial past. The idea that we know best and that we can draw the lines is very reminisent of the British and does not respect the Iraqis.

No one came out in Kerry's support on Tora Bora in 2002 - and many echoed the Republican criticisms.

I agree that Obama should not have said what he did as he did - and am surprised it was in a prepared speech. I think that Biden, like Kerry and Dodd, have been far more sensitive to the danger of destabalizing Pakistan.

I responded emotionally to your post, because rather than defend Biden's position, it used Biden's relationship with Kerry almost as a club. The fact is that though it was very clear that Biden wanted to be Secretary of State, it will never be known who Kerry would have chosen.

I do agree that Biden is extremely knowledgable on foreign policy and that has shown in the debates.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

11. Wow. I am dissapointed in Biden. Thanks for the link nt

[jefferson_dem]

2. Feelin' kind of desperate there, Joe?

Whatever.

[jillan]

15. Actually, I was thinking it was more the other way around. n/t

[Tellurian]

3. Biden bursts Obama's self-important bubble!

:rofl:

The Audacity of Arrogance..

[Ethelk2044]

7. Evidently not Richard Clark Agrees with him. Biden does as well Hillary

Edwards.

:rofl: :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

4. Senator Joe Bloviatin'.

[killbotfactory]

8. If Biden is worried about originality in foreign policy...

he should propose blowing up the moon.

[Ethelk2044]

9. that is a good one.