Obama Begins Flip-Flop on Iraq

While Barack Obama has charisma and oratorical gifts without question, his statements on the pullout in Iraq, while playing wonderfully with voters, are insincere and may come to haunt him as the U.S. campaign edges closer to November. Obama has stated publicly that he would pull out all U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months. Setting this type of timetable without identifying or reaching any goals for the security of Iraq in the aftermath would allow this country to degenerate into civil war - Iran is ready to step in and take control and thus destabilize the middle east into a deeper mess than it is presently. To think a full pullout is possible within the term of the next president is naive and shows Obama's lack of understanding of the complexities of the entire Middle Eastern situation.


We now see Obama starting to waffle on this question as he does a little more research on the situation and isn't otherwise occupied with the heat of a nomination battle. He has more recently been quoted that the pullout will occur "with the advisement of our military leaders" and his spin doctors no longer dwell on the timetable. Also consider the budgetary angle in all this - the savings from the pullout form the foundation for most of Obama's numerous spending promises. So if the pullout from Iraq drags on (which it appears it inevitably will), where will Obama find the money to pay for all of his promises?


The McCain camp, while no doubt fighting an uphill battle, will need to capitalize on Obama's poor grasp of the Middle Eastern situation to have any hope of making this a race by November.


Arguments about whether the U.S. should or should not have occupied Iraq in the first place are now irrelevant. America has a responsibility to leave Iraq with some measure of stability before it exits, a fact that now appears to be dawning on Barack Obama.