Obama and Hillary Spin a 'Big Lie' About Iraq

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Obama and Hillary Spin a 'Big Lie' About Iraq
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted April 5, 2008.

The two Dems lie every time they discuss Iraq on the campaign trail, but the media refuse to call them on it.

...

On the stump, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are crystal clear in their rhetoric about Iraq. In a statement released on the occasion of the 4,000th U.S. combat death in Iraq, Clinton said, "I have made promise. And I intend to honor it by bringing a responsible end to this war, and bringing our troops home safely." Not to be outdone, the Obama campaign piped in with an even more definitive statement: "It is past time to end this war that should never have been waged by bringing our troops home."

On the campaign trail, the two candidates often speak of bringing the troops home and ending the war, and Democratic primary voters, 80 percent of whom want U.S. troops out of Iraq within 12 months, reward them with boisterous applause.

It's a Big Lie, and everyone who follows the debates over U.S. policy towards Iraq knows it, but refuses to call the candidates on it. Both Clinton and Obama (PDF) have been very clear -- in the fine print -- about the fact that they will leave a significant number of "residual forces" in Iraq, albeit with a more limited mission than the Bush administration has pursued. They would protect U.S. infrastructure and personnel -- Obama says "the U.S. embassy" -- train Iraqi forces and retain a rapid-response force to conduct "limited counter-terrorism" missions.

Although the candidates refuse to specify the exact scope and length of that mission, independent analysts say that it would require at least 40,000 and as many as 75,000 soldiers and marines. When one looks at the big picture, the end game appears to be a significant draw-down of troops -- with as many as 100,000 sent home or redeployed to Afghanistan, where thin NATO troops are struggling to contain a re-emergent Taliban -- calling a halt to most combat operations and patrols, and dismantling most or all U.S. bases outside of Baghdad.

They would, however, maintain the infrastructure of the U.S. occupation and provide the forces necessary to do so.

...

http://www.alternet.org/election08/81251/

[GarbagemanLB]

1. Obama is our best chance at having a real change in how the U.S. deals in foreign policy.

I am not foolish enough to believe we will be out of Iraq entirely any time soon, but we need someone who knew it was a mistake to go in FROM THE START. I'll take someone with that judgement over nothing.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. From Obama's Web Site

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

"Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda."

Seems pretty clear to me. Not to you?

[Orwellian_Ghost]

4. No

absolutely not.

I will go into this in detail.

Please first let me ask if it is clear to you define specifically what you glean from that snippet and the further explanation at the link you provided.

Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

Added to this please tell me who is al-Qaeda.

I think I know but I'm interested in other people's theories.

In short Obama has absolutely no plans to disengage from this illegal and immoral occupation. I am willing to bet on this and give long odds with the hopes that I lose.

Obama's plan is similar to Operation Phoenix in rhetoric and reality.

[sandnsea]

3. Obama has said troops will train only if it's peaceful

and has said regional forces can be located in Kuwait. We always have troops at our embassies.

The left is lying on this one.