Back to Iraq

WASHINGTON, July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In May, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Suggested That Obama Should Visit Iraq:

Graham: "Obama keeps talking about an immediate withdrawal, as soon as he gets to be president. The last time, I understand, he was inIraq was in 2006. I would recommend that he go back. So much has happened since 2006 on the ground. It's been extraordinary. He's never really had a one on one with General Petraeus. Go back and talk--go toIraq and talk to General Petraeus, talk to the Maliki government and see how things have changed." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 5/25/08)

Obama Has Not Met With Troops Or Commanders On The Ground InIraq In Over Two Years:

Obama Was InIraq For Two Days In 2006. "Obama ... met with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Saturday [January 6, 2006]. He said before his two-day trip toIraq that he wanted to ask U.S. commanders what a realistic time frame was for bringing troops home." (Jason Straziuso, "Obama Says Minorities Must Be More Involved InIraq's Government," The Associated Press, 1/7/06)

It Has Been 925 Days Since Obama Last Visited Troops And Commanders In Iraq. (GOP Website, www.gop.com, Accessed 7/21/08)

Obama Says His Plan For Iraq Will Be Based On Conditions On The Ground And The Advice Of Military Commanders:

Obama Said The Pace Of Withdrawal From Iraq Would Be Determined In Consultation With Commanders On The Ground And The Iraqi Government. Obama: "If current trends continue and we're in a position where we continue to see reductions in violence and stabilizations and continue to see some improvements on the part of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police, then you know my hope would be that we could draw down in a deliberate fashion in consultation with the Iraqi government, at a pace that is determined in consultation with General Petraeus and the other commanders on the ground and it strikes me that that's something we can begin relatively soon after inauguration. If on the other hand you've got a deteriorating situation for some reason then that's going to have to be taken into account." (Sen. Barack Obama, Interview With Military Times, 7/2/08)

Obama Said He Would "Refine" His Iraq Policy Based On Conditions On The Ground. Obama: "I've always said that I would listen to commanders on the ground. I've always said that the p ace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed. And when I go toIraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies." (Sen. Barack Obama, Press Conference, 7/3/08)

Obama Told CNN's Candy Crowley That He Was Open To "Facts And To Reason" With Regard To His Plan For Withdrawal From Iraq. Crowley: "You have said you want to go back toIraq." Obama: "Yeah." Crowley: "See what the situation is on the ground. Is there nothing that they could show you or that General Petraeus could tell you that would move you from wanting to immediately begin removing U.S. troops?" Obama: "Well, you know, I never say there's nothing or never or no way in which I'd change my mind. Obviously, I'm open to the facts and to reason. And there's no doubt that we've seen significant improvements in security on the ground inIraq." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 6/5/08)

But Before Leaving For Iraq, Obama Laid Out His Plan For Withdrawal:

Obama Said He Would "Give Our Military A New Mission" InIraq His First Day In Office. Obama: "To achieve that success, I will give our military a new mission on my first day in office: ending this war. Let me be clear: we must be as careful getting out ofIraq 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, one year after Iraqi security forces will be prepared to stand up, two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, we will keep a residual force to perform specific missions inIraq: targeting any remnants of al Qaeda, protecting our service members and diplomats, and training and supporting Iraq's security forces, so long as the Iraqis make political progress." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On A New Strategy For A New World,Washington, DC, 7/15/08)

Military Leaders Recently Said That A Timetable For Withdrawal Would Have To Be Based On Conditions On The Ground:

Gen. Petraeus Said That The Pace Of Withdrawal From Iraq Would Have To Be Based On Conditions On The Ground. MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell: "Is 16 months a reasonable time to get U.S. troops out and turn it over to Iraqis? Here's what he said." Gen. Petraeus: "It depends on the conditions, depends on the missions set, depends on the enemy. The enemy does get a vote and is sometimes an independent variable. Lots of different factors I think that would be tied up in that. The dialogue on that and the amount of risk, because it eventually comes down to how much risk various options entail. That's the kind of discussion I think that is very important as we look to the future." (MSNBC's "News Live," 7/18/08)

Admiral Mike Mullen Said Withdrawing All Combat Troop "Could Be Very Dangerous." "[Admiral Mike] Mullen, asked about the possibility of withdrawing all combat troops within two years, said, 'I think the consequences could be very dangerous.'" ("Troop Withdrawal Timeline Concerns Pentagon Chief," The Associated Press, 7/20/08)

NBC's Andrea Mitchell: "When Barack Obama gets toIraq, there will be intense pressure on him to define what he means by withdrawing fromIraq in 16 months. The U.S. military will tell him when he gets here that there can't be a set timetable because that would send the wrong signal to the enemy and because it doesn't take into consideration conditions on the ground. So Obama is going to have to show some flexibility and some skill when he gets here." (NBC's "Today," 7/19/08)

Obama Has Been Criticized For Saying He Will Stick To His Timetable Before Visiting Iraq:

Obama "Appears To Have Decided That Sticking To His Arbitrary, 16-Month Timetable Is More Important Than Adjusting To The Dramatic Changes InIraq." "Early last year, when the war was at its peak, the Democratic candidate proposed a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. combat forces in slightly more than a year. Yesterday, with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war began, Mr. Obama endorsed the same plan. After hinting earlier this month that he might 'refine' hisIraq strategy after visiting the country and listening to commanders, Mr. Obama appears to have decided that sticking to his arbitrary, 16-month timetable is more important than adjusting to the dramatic changes inIraq." (Editorial, "The Iron Timetable," The Washington Post, 7/16/08)

Obama's Promise To Consult With Commanders "Would Have Shown More Sincerity...Had He Postponed Tuesday's Address." "Mr. Obama does promise to 'consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government' in implementing his plans. But he would have shown more sincerity on this score had he postponed Tuesday's address until after he visitedIraq and had a chance to speak with those generals and Iraqis." (Editorial, "Obama's 'Judgment,'" The Wall Street Journal, 7/18/08)

The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon: "To say you're going to get out on a certain schedule - regardless of what the Iraqis do, regardless of what our enemies do, regardless of what is happening on the ground - is the height of absurdity." (Editorial, "Obama's 'Judgment,'" The Wall Street Journal, 7/18/08)

"Barack Obama's New Position On Iraq, Which Turns Out To Be The Same As His Old Position, Is Disappointing. It's Too Confining, Leaving Too Little Room To Adjust To Changing Conditions." (Editorial, "Obama's Iraq Timetable," Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/17/08)

"U.S. Commanders On The Ground Say It May Not Even Be Logistically Possible. Does Obama Even Care? He Says That When He's Elected He'd Give The Military A New Mission- To End The War. Conditions InIraq, Let Alone Winning, Are Marginalia." (Rich Lowry, Op-Ed, "Planning To Ignore The Facts," New York Post, 7/15/08)

SOURCE Republican National Committee

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