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Obama's Camp Lejeune Speech
The Washington Note —
Very interesting speech by Obama today on bringing the Iraq War to a close.
Obama stated moments ago that troop levels in Iraq will be brought down to 50,000 by August 2010 -- and then all forces will be removed by the end of 2011.
America's financial crisis is driving much of this. There is just no way that Obama can keep his fiscal accounts in order with a high-cost, permanent expansion of America's empire of military basing.
I was bothered by Obama's commitment to increase the size of the Pentagon. He really should be ...
"Major combat operations have ended"
Left I on the News —
... Today, Barack Obama went one step further, asserting (or is it "predicting"?) that "by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." And what will the 35-50,000 troops who remain (or who it is claimed will remain at that time, if there are no "tactical adjustments" as Obama puts it before then) be doing, troops who, if our "combat mission" is ended, must by definition be "non-combat" troops? ...
Disgusting Quote of the Day
Left I on the News —
From the same Barack Obama speech: "I want to take a moment to speak directly to the people of Iraq. ... Our nations have known difficult times together. But ours is a bond forged by shared bloodshed, and countless friendships among our people. We Americans have offered our most precious resource – our young men and women – to work with you to rebuild what was destroyed by despotism; to root out our common enemies; and to seek peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren, and for yours."The U.S. invaded Iraq, saw a million ...
Obama to troops: “You got the job done” in Iraq
Hot Air » Top Picks —
... . If you’re not up for 28 minutes of Obamamania, I encourage you to read the transcript . Against all odds, I think this is the best speech The One’s delivered yet — despite the fact that it is, as I say, utterly surreal. Remember, this is the guy who said last summer that if he had it to do over again, he’d still ...
"We Will Bring Our Troops Home"
Political Animal —
"We Will Bring Our Troops Home" I find it hard to express how happy this makes me: "Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end. As we carry out this drawdown, my highest priority will be the safety and security of our troops and civilians in Iraq. We will proceed carefully, and I will consult closely with my military commanders on the ground and with the Iraqi government. There will surely be difficult periods and tactical adjustments. But our enemies should be left with no doubt: this plan gives our military the forces and the ...
"We Will Bring Our Troops Home"
Obsidian Wings —
... by hilzoy I find it hard to express how happy this makes me: "Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end. ...
It’s all a matter of timing
Stones Cry Out —
From President Obama,
Today, …the United States will pursue a new strategy to end the war in Iraq through a transition to full Iraqi responsibility.
This strategy is grounded in a clear and achievable goal shared by the Iraqi people and the American people: an Iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant. To achieve that goal, we will work to promote an Iraqi government that is just, representative, and accountable, and that provides neither support nor safe-haven to terrorists. We will help Iraq build new ties of trade and ...
From the "Yes, but…" file.
Upper Left —
President Obama... Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.Well done, Mr. President, yes, but not particularly well said. Any timetable for withdrawal is an improvement, but the combat mission will end when no American troops are in harm's way in Iraq. We may be withdrawing combat arms brigades first, but will we deny the "training," "support" and "security" forces left behind hazardous duty pay? I can't imagine doing so. Will we still be awarding Purple Hearts and other ...
President Obama At Lejeune: The Beginning Of The End Of The Iraq War
The Moderate Voice —
... It was a wonderful sight: Barack Obama, widely flogged during the presidential campaign for being a foreign policy lightweight and cut-and-run coward, announcing to an auditorium full of cheering Marines that most U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by August 2010 and all of the rest a year later. ...
What Obama's Iraq Speech Means for American Foreign Policy
democracyarsenal.org —
President Obama's speech on Iraq was the culmination of something that many of us had been working towards for years. But it was more than just the beginning of the end of the war. It was also the clearest signal yet of what an Obama administration's foreign policy will look like, what its goals and organizing principles may be, and how this President can use his unique skills to reshape America's position in the world. First, the speech demonstrates that on issues of foreign policy, communication is vital. Obama's exceptional skills aren't just an ...
3/2: El Rushbo In The Spotlight
Blogometer —
... libruls, again and again and again. Limbaugh is attacking the motives and good faith of more than half the country -- and of a president just elected in a landslide. Limbaugh takes us right back to the 1980s and 1990s -- the old red-blue paradigm that has led to massive GOP losses. But Obama has reframed his opponents as the vested interests resisting reform. Who do you think will win on that battlefield?" IRAQ: Someday This War's Gonna End Liberal bloggers were delighted when Obama announced on Fri. that he plans to "remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011": ...
Mission Accomplished Indefinitely
At-Largely —
... It looks like the fat lady will become a Victoria’s Secret model before she sings the finale of our woebegone war in Iraq. On Friday Feb. 27, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, young Mr. Obama announced that, “by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.” We can speculate till the troops come home why Obama chose to make this announcement on a Marine Corps base as opposed to, say, on an aircraft carrier, but it’s a dead cert that the mission will be no more accomplished by August 2010 than it was in ...
Seeing the Forest for the Trees in Afghanistan
The Washington Note —
The Washington Post ran a feature yesterday that asked a number of foreign policy experts to offer their first impressions of President Obama's speech at Camp Lejuene.
I found many of the responses interesting, but was particularly struck by Andrew Bacevich's comments. Bacevich teaches International Relations at Boston University and is the author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.
He wrote:
A promise to end the war in Iraq formed the ...
Mission Accomplished Indefinitely
Antiwar.com Original —
... I t looks like the fat lady will become a Victoria's Secret model before she sings the finale of our woebegone war in Iraq. On Friday Feb. 27, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., young Mr. Obama announced that, "by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." We can speculate till the troops come home why Obama chose to make this announcement on a Marine Corps base as opposed to, say, on an aircraft carrier, but it's a dead cert that the mission will be no more accomplished by August 2010 than it was in ...
Mr. President, the Long War Won’t End in 2010
Pajamas Media —
... through all the years of carnage and uncertainty, our military stuck it out and now might just end up leaving behind something once considered miraculous. But we should not get ahead of ourselves — and I fear some of President Obama’s statements point in that direction. It is a good thing that the war, as we once knew it, is wrapping up. But Mr. Obama’s nomenclature is unsettling. “Today, I have come to speak to you about how the war in Iraq will end,” the new commander-in-chief told Marines soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. “Let me just say this as plainly as I can: By ...
A Falcon of Peace
Antiwar.com Original —
... that the Bush administration's use of force was a disaster of the first order. As a result, they have generally concluded that, in Iraq, we must be especially careful not to stop applying it too quickly lest we destabilize what's left of that country and, in Afghanistan, that achieving "stability" calls for the deployment of significantly more forces which, of course, will use significantly more force. In Iraq, where President Obama is indeed talking about a withdrawal that would remove all U.S. forces by the end of 2011, we also know, thanks to Thomas Ricks' latest book, ...
Tom Engelhardt: A Falcon of Peace
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... In Iraq, where President Obama is indeed talking about a withdrawal that would remove all U.S. forces by the end of 2011, we also know, thanks to Thomas Ricks's latest book The Gamble, that America's top generals, including Centcom commander Petraeus and General Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, believe we'll still be fighting in that country ...
Jeff Johnson: The Other Iraq
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... . Funny thing was I never stated that the focus of the documentary had anything to do with President Obama's troop withdrawal strategy or that I wanted to cover increasing violence in and around Baghdad as our brave men and women in the armed services pullout. In fact, I was really direct that my interest lied about 198 miles from Baghdad in the Kurdistan region of the country; a place that is more and more being known within the country as "The Other Iraq". The fact that those closest to me were unable to conceptualize the difference between the conflict area where U.S. ...
