Obama: Troop surge not solution to Iraq

[kfrost06]

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/arti...b500761c78.txt

DES MOINES -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Tuesday that the troop surge in Iraq isn't necessarily succeeding.

Speaking in Des Moines, he said the gains from the increase in troop levels have done little to defuse the region's underlying conflicts.

"The surge is not the solution to Iraq's problems because it is not achieving the political accommodations and benchmarks that were the stated purpose of our troop increase," Obama said.

His comments, part of a speech on foreign policy, come at a time when military leaders and media reports indicate violence is down in Iraq. The situation is being greeted by supporters of the war as a sign that the tide is turning in favor of American interests.

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, said Iraq has distracted from the war on terrorism and the related war in Afghanistan. He proposed withdrawing troops from Iraq and increasing the military and economic commitment to Afghanistan.

"Six years after we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan -- the origin of the 9-11 attacks -- we still don't have our priorities straight," he said.

Prior to Obama's arrival, his campaign held a policy roundtable with some of the candidate's advisers and supporters. The events were an attempt to rebut one of the greatest criticisms of Obama by his rivals, that he doesn't have enough experience on foreign policy.

Anthony Lake, former national security advisor to President Clinton, said Obama will succeed on the world stage because he is straightforward, without needless posturing.

"I think we need to return to the politics of authenticity," Lake said.

SIOUX CITY ADD: Another panelist, State Sen. Steve Warnstadt of Sioux City said Obama has the good sense to know that military force shouldn't be the first option. Warnstadt is a member of the Iowa Army National Guard.

"I need to know I have the commander-in-chief who will deploy those forces wisely," he said.

[kfrost06]

http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=7541544

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Congresswoman Shelley Berkley spent Christmas with Nevada troops in Iraq -- where she says the U.S. troop surge seems to be helping quell violence.

The Democrat from Las Vegas is telling reporters by telephone that the reality is that the military has done an extraordinary job.

The trip is the first to Iraq for Berkley. She's been a war critic -- and disapproved of the troop "surge" when President Bush announced it early this year.

She says she and other members of her congressional delegation toured Ramadi -- a city about 70 miles west of Baghdad that's been largely cleansed of insurgents.

Berkley and a delegation of several other lawmakers planned to fly to Turkey to meet with President A**ullah Gul before returning to the United States this weekend.


Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

[kfrost06]

It seems to me that Obama is relying on the failure of our troops in Iraq and he is disappointed with the success that our troops have achieved with the troop surge.

[kfrost06]

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. officials on Wednesday forecast less violence in Iraq in 2008, despite a planned reduction of American troops.

The combination of more Sunni fighters in the Iraqi army and a recent backlash against militants will allow U.S.-led troops to leverage their ability to su**ue violent areas, according to U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner.

"Those forces will help coalition forces fight above their weight. They will help offset the reduction in coalition numbers," he told reporters.

The Bush administration plans to withdraw 30,000 American troops from Iraq by July, a reduction which would put the U.S. force level there at about 135,000.
Kurdish officials, meanwhile, have delayed for six months the explosive issue of a referendum to decide if the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk will become part of their self-rule area or remain under control of the Shiite-dominated central government.

There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the referendum was widely expected to be delayed by months.

Kirkuk is an especially coveted city for both the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad and the Kurdish one in Irbil, largely because much of Iraq's oil wealth lies below it.

The Iraqi constitution requires that a referendum on the future status of the city be held to determine whether it will remain under Baghdad's control, become part of Kurdistan or gain autonomy from both.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Phil Reeker told reporters there was no doubt that improvements were made in Iraq during the past year, particularly in security.

"It is pretty clear that 2007 comes to an end in Iraq with Iraq as a substantially better place than where we began the year," he said.

Both Reeker and Bergner told a news conference that the sharp reduction in violence seen in Iraq since the influx of U.S. troops in June gives Iraq's leaders the chance to fix problems that are standing in the way of longer-term stability.

An important factor in the planned drawdown of U.S. troops has been the explosion of so-called "awakening councils" — anti-al-Qaida in Iraq groups that once fought against American and Iraqi troops but who have now turned their guns on extremists.

"As with any transition, there is a need to help build confidence, expand the trust between individuals who at one point had been fighting against Iraqi forces or against the coalition and are now willing to serve alongside them," Bergner said.

The mostly Sunni awakening groups — there are about 300, encompassing more than 70,000 fighters — worry the Shiite-dominated government, which fears they could become an uncontrollable force that would ignite renewed sectarian fighting.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said an insurgent killed last month has been identified as a senior leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and a former associate of its late leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was slain by U.S. forces last year.

Abu A**ullah, also known as Muhammad Sulayman Shunaythir al-Zubai, was killed by coalition troops north of Baghdad on Nov. 8. He was described in a military statement as "an experienced bomb maker and attack planner who coordinated numerous attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces over the past three years, using a variety of improvised explosive devices combined with small-arms fire."

The U.S. military said two soldiers were killed during fighting Wednesday in Ninevah province in the north. Three other soldiers were wounded. The names of the soldiers were withheld pending notification of family.

Separately, a bomb explosion in Ninevah killed three children and wounded another two, the U.S. military said, quoting Iraqi police.

[Logan13]

It seems to me that Obama is relying on the failure of our troops in Iraq and he is disappointed with the success that our troops have achieved with the troop surge.

The liberals have been banking on a defeat in Iraq for at least the last 4 years. Why? It is not because they care that much, it's all about politics. The entire liberal platform is this screwed up as well. They have been talking about how this was going to be a down year in Christmas sales....not. They have been campaigning on an up-coming recession. And what do they propose to fix this up-coming recession? Increase taxes. These people will never learn as they are operating so far from reality that they may be beyond hope......