JR4NOTAXES asked: Obama’s first day in office would be the usual double-speak, something like this:
Obama: The American people want the troops home, the world has stated that it’s time for Iraq to achieve self-determination, and American soldiers to be reunited with their families.
Obama advisor: Sir, back on September 5th, 2008, General Petraeus had advised former President Bush to have one battalion (3,5000 troops) sent home from Iraq by next month, February, 2009. Then, there is a formal plan agreed to by Iraqis and us that the remaining 140,000 troops (15 combat brigades plus support personnel) will be withdrawn over the next 14-16 months. It wasn’t that former President Bush didn’t want to agree to a timetable with the Iraqis; it was that he didn’t want a federally mandated date that would be advertised to the world and had not “outs” should something go wrong.
Obama: Well, I promised the American people I would give the military a new mission on day one of my Administration: end this war.
As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 — two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions: going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal.
Obama advisor: Sir, we are already on track to do that, per the previous Administration.
Obama: We inevitably need to make tactical adjustments. As I have often said, I would consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government to ensure that our troops were redeployed safely, and our interests protected. We would move them from secure areas first and volatile areas later. We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability.
Obama advisor: We are already consulting with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government. The diplomatic efforts have long been underway and are continuing.
Obama: Well, I will not hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq. I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South Korea.
Obama advisor: Sir, Ahmadinejad in Iran has become bolder in his threats toward Israel, Syria is stirring up much more trouble in Lebanon and, with our depleted presence in Iraq, will be emboldened further. Moreover, our bases in South Korea have been the most successful, strategic, and peace-keeping force in the last half-century. The Secretary of State advises maintaining bases in Iraq, continued engagement with Middle East leaders, and the leverage of our allies such as Great Britain, Australia, France, and others.
Obama: Well, the Iraqi leaders have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.
Obama advisor: But sir, you said on September 4th, 2008 that the surge was successful?
Obama: I did? Well, scratch that. And what is your name again, senior advisor?
Obama advisor: Hillary, sir.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL361920420080905
And actual quotes from Obama are in the following article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/opinion/14obama.html
Viola
