Republicans Say Obama Staff Creating 'Guessing Game' On Iraq
Republicans are suggesting Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is backing away from, or muddling his message, on his stated position to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq should he be elected.
The Republican National Committee released a statement titled, "Obama's Iraq Guessing Game," citing interviews from Obama campaign staffers commenting on the Illinois' senator's Iraq position.
The statement quotes Obama senior foreign policy adviser Susan Rice and saying Obama "will listen to commanders on the ground" and "will follow and heed their advice."
"He has said that the best military advice he's received leads us to believe that we can safely withdraw our forces at the pace of one to two combat brigades per month, and depending on the number of combat brigades he inherits, our best estimate is that that could be accomplished in roughly 16 months," Rice says, according to the statement. "That's not a deadline. That's a timetable, and obviously if Senator Obama has said on numerous occasions, he will listen to his commanders on the ground, he will follow and heed their advice as he decides how at the
strategic level we must proceed. So he will do this very carefully and responsibly as he always said but he will do it."
However, the same statement quotes Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod as elaborating on that point.
According to the statement, Alexrod told a CNN reporter, "The fact is that, Senator Obama introduced a plan in the United States Senate in January of 2007 that called for a phased withdrawal, with benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, that called for strategic pauses, based on the progress on these benchmarks, and advice on the commanders on the ground and he's always said that he would listen to the advice of commanders on the ground, that that would factor into his thinking. He's also said we have to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. So he's been very consistent on this point."
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, says U.S. forces should continue their efforts in Iraq.
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The Republican National Committee released a statement titled, "Obama's Iraq Guessing Game," citing interviews from Obama campaign staffers commenting on the Illinois' senator's Iraq position.
The statement quotes Obama senior foreign policy adviser Susan Rice and saying Obama "will listen to commanders on the ground" and "will follow and heed their advice."
"He has said that the best military advice he's received leads us to believe that we can safely withdraw our forces at the pace of one to two combat brigades per month, and depending on the number of combat brigades he inherits, our best estimate is that that could be accomplished in roughly 16 months," Rice says, according to the statement. "That's not a deadline. That's a timetable, and obviously if Senator Obama has said on numerous occasions, he will listen to his commanders on the ground, he will follow and heed their advice as he decides how at the
strategic level we must proceed. So he will do this very carefully and responsibly as he always said but he will do it."
However, the same statement quotes Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod as elaborating on that point.
According to the statement, Alexrod told a CNN reporter, "The fact is that, Senator Obama introduced a plan in the United States Senate in January of 2007 that called for a phased withdrawal, with benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, that called for strategic pauses, based on the progress on these benchmarks, and advice on the commanders on the ground and he's always said that he would listen to the advice of commanders on the ground, that that would factor into his thinking. He's also said we have to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. So he's been very consistent on this point."
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, says U.S. forces should continue their efforts in Iraq.
Watch more breaking news now on our video feed:
Bookmark http://onthehillblog.blogspot.com/ and drop back in for more news from the nation's capital.
Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, Iraq, Obama, Republicans, war
posted by Scott Nance at
5:53 AM
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