Obama Tried To Stall Gis' Iraq Withdrawal

[stephanie]

wtf??

Comments: 488Read Comments Leave a Comment LONG VIEW: Barack Obama tours Iraq with Gen. David Petraeus in July, when he sought to stall any agreement for US troop withdrawal until President Bush left office.

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.

read the rest and comments
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.ht m?page=0

[stephanie]

WTF?

1 hour ago

PUEBLO, Colorado (AFP) — Barack Obama's White House campaign angrily denied Monday a report that he had secretly urged the Iraqis to postpone a deal to withdraw US troops until after November's election.

In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

"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, according to Taheri.

"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 reportedly said.

The Republican campaign of John McCain seized on the report to accuse Obama of double-speak on Iraq, calling it an "egregious act of political interference by a presidential candidate seeking political advantage overseas."

But Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri's article bore "as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial."

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a "Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

read it all here..
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hi9TDNHvuBZpFsO8ZbiFYsnbIl3A

[Kathianne]

WTF?

1 hour ago

PUEBLO, Colorado (AFP) — Barack Obama's White House campaign angrily denied Monday a report that he had secretly urged the Iraqis to postpone a deal to withdraw US troops until after November's election.

In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

"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, according to Taheri.

"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 reportedly said.

The Republican campaign of John McCain seized on the report to accuse Obama of double-speak on Iraq, calling it an "egregious act of political interference by a presidential candidate seeking political advantage overseas."

But Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri's article bore "as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial."

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a "Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

read it all here..
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hi9TDNHvuBZpFsO8ZbiFYsnbIl3A

So considering the red letters, wasn't Obama saying in effect, "No reduction of troops until I TAKE OFFICE?"

[red states rule]

Was Obama playing politics with the lives of our troops?

If this story has legs, his Presidental bid will be DOA. I wonder if Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann will discusss this story tinight?




OBAMA TRIED TO STALL GIS' IRAQ WITHDRAWAL

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.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.ht m

[Trigg]

Interresting.......Obama acusing people of nasty politics......and he's doing this.


I'll have to watch Fox tonight, I doubt MSNBC will run the story unless they're forced to.

[Yurt]

not only is he a liar, but he should be tried for treason.

[Yurt]

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.

he is slime

[Abbey Marie]

Ah, so now we have "Troopgate". So much more potentially damaging than "Troopergate".

[midcan5]

Let's see if I have this correct, you and your cohorts believe an Iraqi whose trustworthiness is unknown and whose motive is unclear.

You believe that Obama who voted against the war and wanted the troops home would change his position based on an Iraqi's word. And ask this Iraqi that?

If America elects dumb and dumber, Americans such as yourselves deserve, war, death, deficits, and stupidity as it fits you all to a tee.

I wonder if you fools would buy a car from the same Iraqi!

:laugh2::laugh2:


America for Dummies: A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to further marginalize science and progress in America by supporting creationism (religion) as science.

[Immanuel]

Even if this is true, the title of the thread is a little misleading. He is not trying to delay troop withdrawal, simply delay the agreement (which must come first) for withdrawal of troops. Delaying the agreement would not necessarily delay troop withdrawal as that wasn't going to happen before the election anyway.

If this is true what he was hoping to avoid was the bounce such an agreement would likely give John McCain as if John McCain orchestrated the agreement in the first place.

If this is true, it doesn't say much good about Senator Obama in my books. The withdrawal of troops is not something I want him playing politics with.

Notice 3 (actually 4) "if's" in those paragraphs.

I'll wait and see where this one falls.

Immie

[Yurt]

Let's see if I have this correct, you and your cohorts believe an Iraqi whose trustworthiness is unknown and whose motive is unclear.

You believe that Obama who voted against the war and wanted the troops home would change his position based on an Iraqi's word. And ask this Iraqi that?

If America elects dumb and dumber, Americans such as yourselves deserve, war, death, deficits, and stupidity as it fits you all to a tee.

I wonder if you fools would buy a car from the same Iraqi!

:laugh2::laugh2:


America for Dummies: A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to further marginalize science and progress in America by supporting creationism (religion) as science.

so you have proof the iraqi is lying? i can clearly imagine obama playing politics with this.

[retiredman]

so you have proof the iraqi is lying? i can clearly imagine obama playing politics with this.


proof? You apparently don't need any proof that he is telling the truth.

I can understand how any presidential candidate would be uncomfortable with his lame duck predecessor signing some agreement in the waning months of his presidency that would end up tying the hands of the incoming president.

[Yurt]

proof? You apparently don't need any proof that he is telling the truth.

I can understand how any presidential candidate would be uncomfortable with his lame duck predecessor signing some agreement in the waning months of his presidency that would end up tying the hands of the incoming president.

i don't bear the burden of his truth. he is presumed truthful, but you know that already.

it is not surprising you would play politics with soldiers. i guess the president should just completely ignore and do nothing regarding iraq because a new president is coming to office. how sad.

[red states rule]

i don't bear the burden of his truth. he is presumed truthful, but you know that already.

it is not surprising you would play politics with soldiers. i guess the president should just completely ignore and do nothing regarding iraq because a new president is coming to office. how sad.

To MFM they are not soliders - they are infidels

MFM, Durbin, Kerry, Kennedy, Michael Moore, and his fellow band of Merry Men have desired total and complete defeat for our troops in Iraq - now Obama screws them over so he can grab the "credit" for pulling them out

[Yurt]

To MFM they are not soliders - they are infidels

MFM, Durbin, Kerry, Kennedy, Michael Moore, and his fellow band of Merry Men have desired total and complete defeat for our troops in Iraq - now Obama screws them over so he can grab the "credit" for pulling them out

right

[red states rule]

right

When have Dems not used the troops as political pawns? Hell, he snubed wounded troops so he could get a photo op shooting baskets in a gym while on his "Save the World" tour

[retiredman]

i don't bear the burden of his truth. he is presumed truthful, but you know that already.

it is not surprising you would play politics with soldiers. i guess the president should just completely ignore and do nothing regarding iraq because a new president is coming to office. how sad.

so any Iraqi can say anything and you will presume that he is being truthful. Is that correct?
I am not playing politics with soldiers. And your guess is incorrect.

[manu1959]

so any Iraqi can say anything and you will presume that he is being truthful. Is that correct?
I am not playing politics with soldiers. And your guess is incorrect.

you wouldn't be calling a muslim a liar would you...........

[red states rule]

so any Iraqi can say anything and you will presume that he is being truthful. Is that correct?
I am not playing politics with soldiers. And your guess is incorrect.

YOU not playing politics with the troops??????

If it would help Obama in the polls he would sell out his Grandmother. Oh, he already did throw her under the bus

[red states rule]

you wouldn't be calling a muslim a liar would you...........

Libs like MFM drive around in a Mexican-made car with a "Support our Infidels" magnet to show their "support"

[Yurt]

so any Iraqi can say anything and you will presume that he is being truthful. Is that correct?
I am not playing politics with soldiers. And your guess is incorrect.

has obama denied this?

you actually support this line of thought and see it as reasonable, why then should you presume obama would not say such a thing?

[red states rule]

has obama denied this?

you actually support this line of thought and see it as reasonable, why then should you presume obama would not say such a thing?

It is clear the messiah wants to try to take credit for solving the Iraq problem.

It shows Obama and Dems do not give a second thought about playing politics with the lives of our troops. They are expendable if it means winning the election

[Immanuel]

YOU not playing politics with the troops??????

If it would help Obama in the polls he would sell out his Grandmother. Oh, he already did throw her under the bus

I hope you are not insinuating that John McCain would not sell out his grandmother for the very same thing.

Immie

[red states rule]

I hope you are not insinuating that John McCain would not sell out his grandmother for the very same thing.

Immie

While I do not like McCain, I find to hard to believe he would play politics with the lives of the troops

He was one of the few voices supporting the surge when most everyone in DC was running scared

[Immanuel]

While I do not like McCain, I find to hard to believe he would play politics with the lives of the troops

He was one of the few voices supporting the surge when most everyone in DC was running scared

Selling out wouldn't necessarily require playing politics with the troops. He could come out in favor of Partial Birth Abortion. That would be selling out. There are so many ways that a politician can and will sell us out.

Immie

[red states rule]

Selling out wouldn't necessarily require playing politics with the troops. He could come out in favor of Partial Birth Abortion. That would be selling out. There are so many ways that a politician can and will sell us out.

Immie

I do not trust McCain on many issues, but I am sure he would do right by the troops

Obama on the other hand, would stop at nothing to win this election - even screwing over the troops as it looks like he did on this issue

[midcan5]

And another thing to add, do you really think the Iraqis are in charge of our decisions about troop levels? Our soldiers would not even be dying in a place that has come to hate us if it wasn't for an illegal invasion.

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/07/trapped-in-wrong-paradigm-three-handy.html

"I repeat: the entire war and occupation are immoral. If you criticize the Bush administration on the grounds that it "bungled" the war, this leaves one, and only one, inevitable implication: if they had prosecuted the war and occupation "competently," then you would have no complaints whatsoever. That is: you think the invasion and occupation of Iraq were justified and moral. If that's what you actually think, you belong in the Bush camp. You're arguing over managerial style, and about issues that are entirely trivial."


Someday a child will ask why did my daddy die? I miss him. A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to continue an illegal war.

[red states rule]

And another thing to add, do you really think the Iraqis are in charge of our decisions about troop levels? Our soldiers would not even be dying in a place that has come to hate us if it wasn't for an illegal invasion.

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/07/trapped-in-wrong-paradigm-three-handy.html

"I repeat: the entire war and occupation are immoral. If you criticize the Bush administration on the grounds that it "bungled" the war, this leaves one, and only one, inevitable implication: if they had prosecuted the war and occupation "competently," then you would have no complaints whatsoever. That is: you think the invasion and occupation of Iraq were justified and moral. If that's what you actually think, you belong in the Bush camp. You're arguing over managerial style, and about issues that are entirely trivial."


Someday a child will ask why did my daddy die? I miss him. A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to continue an illegal war.

Get over it. For years you guys were saying the US lost in iraq - you have been proven wrong

Now we find out it looks like Obama wanted to delay the troops coming home so he could take the credit

You had an election on the issue of the war in 2004 - and you lost.

and so did your buddies the terrorists

[Yurt]

And another thing to add, do you really think the Iraqis are in charge of our decisions about troop levels? Our soldiers would not even be dying in a place that has come to hate us if it wasn't for an illegal invasion.

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/07/trapped-in-wrong-paradigm-three-handy.html

"I repeat: the entire war and occupation are immoral. If you criticize the Bush administration on the grounds that it "bungled" the war, this leaves one, and only one, inevitable implication: if they had prosecuted the war and occupation "competently," then you would have no complaints whatsoever. That is: you think the invasion and occupation of Iraq were justified and moral. If that's what you actually think, you belong in the Bush camp. You're arguing over managerial style, and about issues that are entirely trivial."


Someday a child will ask why did my daddy die? I miss him. A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote to continue an illegal war.

illegal :laugh2:

[red states rule]

illegal :laugh2:

To midcan, it was "illegal" only because a Republican President decided to liberate Iraq

[Psychoblues]

This thread is not only false but a duplicate as well.

:salute::cheers2::clap::laugh2::cheers2::salute:

[Kathianne]

Interesting non-response from Obama camp:

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/024417.php


THIS OBAMA DENIAL DOESN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH OF A DENIAL TO ME:


In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

"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, according to Taheri. . . .

But Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri's article bore "as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial."

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a "Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

In the face of resistance from Bush, the Democrat has long said that any such agreement must be reviewed by the US Congress as it would tie a future administration's hands on Iraq.

I'm not seeing a lot of daylight between what Taheri said and the Obama campaign's response here.
posted at 07:41 AM by Glenn Reynolds

[red states rule]

Interesting non-response from Obama camp:

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/024417.php

Looks like the messiah has been busted

Amazing how after 5 years of "get out now" rants from the left, the libs yawn when their messiah tells Iraq NOT to complete the withdrawl plan

Winning this election is more important to libs then then the lives of the troops

[midcan5]

In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

Now read that carefully.....did you read it. Do you still believe it? Lame to the point of absurdity. Should I bold the key words.


A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote against the fundamental principle of America, the right of the individual to lead their life privately without the government interfering.

[red states rule]

Now read that carefully.....did you read it. Do you still believe it it? Lame to the point of absurdity. Should I bold the key words.


A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote against the fundamental principle of America, the right of the individual to lead their life privately without the government interfering.

Obama's campaign said the story is true. Was Wendy Morigi lying midcan?


Obama-Biden Reservations Confirmed
By The Prowler
Published 9/17/2008 12:08:47 AM
STANDING BY THE STORY
The Obama campaign spent more than five hours on Monday attempting to figure out the best refutation of the explosive New York Post report that quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying that Barack Obama during his July visit to Baghdad demanded that Iraq not negotiate with the Bush Administration on the withdrawal of American troops. Instead, he asked that they delay such negotiations until after the presidential handover at the end of January.

The three problems, according to campaign sources: The report was true, there were at least three other people in the room with Obama and Zebari to confirm the conversation, and there was concern that there were enough aggressive reporters based in Baghdad with the sources to confirm the conversation that to deny the comments would create a bigger problem.

Instead, Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi told reporters that Obama told the Iraqis that they should not rush through what she termed a "Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of U.S. forces until after President Bush left office. In other words, the Iraqis should not negotiate an American troop withdrawal.

According to a Senate staffer working for Sen. Joseph Biden, Biden himself got involved in the shaping of the statement. "The whole reason he's on the ticket is the foreign policy insight," explained the staffer.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13897

[Kathianne]

Indeed, standing by the story:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWI3MDQyNGIwOTczMTU2YmI1NjE5OWMxMGJkYTQzZTg=&w=MA==


Obama 101
My firsthand lesson.

By Amir Taheri

On Monday, in an opinion piece published in the New York Post, I suggested that Senator Barack Obama had urged Iraqi leaders to postpone making an agreement with the United States until there was a new administration in Washington.

I said this because Obama himself had said it.

In an interview broadcast by NBC on June 16, 2008, Obama said that he had told Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari that “the Congress should be involved in any negotiations regarding the Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq” and “suggested it may be better to wait until the next administration to negotiate such an agreement.”

I said it because Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said it.

In an interview published by the pan-Arab daily Asharq Alawast on September 11, 2008, Zebari raised the issue at length. This is part of what he said: “Obama asked me why, in view of a change of administration, we were hurrying the signing of this special agreement, and why we did not wait until the coming of a new administration next year to agree on some issues and matters.”

I said it because my Iraqi sources, who asked not to be identified because they do not wish to pick a quarrel with someone who could be the President of the United States next year, said it.

A day after my op-ed was published, Obama’s campaign issued a statement, in effect confirming what I had said.

It said, in part, “Senator Obama has consistently said that any security arrangements that outlast this administration should have the backing of the US Congress — especially given the fact that the Iraqi parliament will have the opportunity to vote on it.”

On Wednesday, the senator issued another statement — also in response to my op-ed — denying that he had ever opposed “a redeployment and responsible drawdown” of U.S. forces in Iraq. But I never said he did. I also never said that he opposed motherhood and apple pie; In any case, no one would oppose “redeployment and responsible drawdown,” something that is happening all the time. Redeployment means moving some units from one location to another. Drawdown means reducing the size of the expeditionary force in accordance with the task at hand. Right now troops are being redeployed from Anbar province to Salahuddin. There is also drawdown: The number of U.S. troops has been drawn down to 136,000, the lowest since a peak of 170,000 in 2003.

What Obama hopes his more radical followers will not notice is that he is no longer speaking of “withdrawal.”

...

What Obama was attempting, however, was more original. It amounted to preemptive diplomacy used against one’s own government: opposing an agreement not yet negotiated and of the content of which he knew nothing. A neophyte in matters of politics and diplomacy, the young senator is certainly not wanting for originality.

Since I do not wish to become involved in an Alphonse-and-Gaston number with Obama, I suggest that we focus our attention on the fact that the nominee is left without anything resembling a policy on Iraq. So, rather than coming out with another denial of something I never said that he had done, the esteemed senator should ponder these questions:

Does he still believe that toppling Saddam Hussein was illegal and “the biggest strategic blunder in U.S. history”? If yes, we might wonder why he is prepared to deal with the new Iraqi leaders who, by definition, have usurped Hussein’s power in Baghdad with American support.

Does he still want to withdraw from Iraq or does he want to stay, doing a bit of “drawdown” and “redeployment” every now and then? And, if he wants to stay, on what basis, for what purpose, and for how long?

Is Senator Biden’s plan to carve Iraq into three separate states still a live option or has it been thrown into the dustbin where it should have been from the start?

Would Obama now support the conclusion of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and a Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) through negotiations between the Bush administration and the Iraqi administration of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, also a “lame duck,” as it faces elections early next year?

[red states rule]

My, the Obamabots were denying this story right up to the moment the Obama campaign admitted it was true

Where has all the liberal spin gone?????

[Yurt]

My, the Obamabots were denying this story right up to the moment the Obama campaign admitted it was true

Where has all the liberal spin gone?????

and the dems were racist against iraqis, as if we should not believe the person simply because they are "some iraqi"....

obama admits it and now the dems are silent, no surprise and no surprise the news hasn't really picked it up

[red states rule]

and the dems were racist against iraqis, as if we should not believe the person simply because they are "some iraqi"....

obama admits it and now the dems are silent, no surprise and no surprise the news hasn't really picked it up

Libs ignore this story now that their messiah admits the truth

Seems libs really have no problem with Dems playing with the lives of the troops if it helps them in an election

[Binky]

So considering the red letters, wasn't Obama saying in effect, "No reduction of troops until I TAKE OFFICE?"



It sounds to me as tho' he is wanting them to wait so he can grab the credit if he's elected. He's pretty sure of himself, isn't he? Who's to say he'll be the one elected?

[red states rule]

What happened to all the Obamabots? They were ranting, screaming, and telling us this story was a lie

Then the Obama camps admits it is true - then all that is left is crickets chirping

[Binky]

What happened to all the Obamabots? They were ranting, screaming, and telling us this story was a lie

Then the Obama camps admits it is true - then all that is left is crickets chirping


What else could they say? Once you've made a complete fool of yourself you tend to want to hide out and remain annonomous for awhile. LOL!