U.S. Conduct of the Iraq War After the Surge

Senator Barack Obama
Senator John McCain

Summary

• Our occupation of Iraq must end
• There's no military solution to Iraq
• Extending the surge will make it worse

Summary

• Obama has been consistently wrong on Iraq
• He was wrong about General Petraeus
• He was wrong about sectarian violence

"I opposed this war from the start. In part because I believed that if we gave open-ended authority to invade Iraq in 2002, we would have an open-ended occupation of the sort that we have right now. And I have stated clearly and unequivocally that that open-ended occupation has to end. The idea that the situation in Iraq is improving is simply not credible, and it's not reflective of the facts on the ground. The hard truth is, there's no military solution to this war. Our troops have done all that they have been asked and more, but no amount of American soldiers are gonna solve the political differences that lie in the heart of the sectarian conflict. Extending the surge is just going to put more men and women in the crossfire of a civil war."

"Senator Obama has consistently offered his judgment on Iraq, and he has been consistently wrong. He said that General Petraeus' new strategy would not reduce sectarian violence, but would worsen it. He was wrong. He said the dynamics in Iraq would not change as a result of the 'surge.' He was wrong. One year ago, he voted to cut off all funds for our forces fighting extremists in Iraq. He was wrong. Sectarian violence has been dramatically reduced, Sunnis in Anbar province and throughout Iraq are cooperating in fighting al Qaeda in Iraq, and Shi'ite extremist militias no longer control Basra -- the Maliki government and its forces do..."

April 10, 2007
Virtual Town Hall
Organized by MoveOn.org

Link to Source

May 25, 2008
Albuquerque, NM
Speech at New Mexico Veterans’ Memorial

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