– Senator Barack Obama, August 19, 2007, in an address at the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
By way of Bottomline Upfront:
Fifteen of Eighteen Benchmarks Met in Iraq (outperforming our own Congress, of course)
BBC Reports on the Rebirth of Baghdad (also reported in Der Spiegel)
Also, from an unpublished blogpost I started about a week ago:
Progress of Iraqi Army, including logistics.
Turnabout in Iraq a ‘Miracle’
So which presidential candidate was correct about the Surge strategy?
Senator Obama, or Senator McCain? Which candidate refused to meet with General Petraeus, make a trip to Iraq- even if for nothing more than a photo-op- and see for himself what the current conditions on the ground might be like, in aftermath of the New Baghdad Security Plan?
Senator McCain supported the Surge strategy, without flinching at the possible political damage he may incur from such an unpopular position; he was steadfast and stubborn at a time when so many Americans were growing war-weary (even though most are at the mall, and not personally investing of themselves in the Iraq Battle and in the Long War), because McCain understood the high cost of failure. McCain did the right thing, even when it wasn’t the popular position to take, and staked his political life on the Surge:
“The decline in the polls of [McCain], as measured against [Clinton], reflects more than declining Republican popularity nationally in the weeks after the election,” writes Novak in his exclusive report. “It connotes public disenchantment with McCain’s aggressive advocacy of a ‘surge’ of up to 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq.”
Here is Senator McCain supporting the Surge strategy, before it became cool to do so:
Sen. John McCain said that he is willing to stake his presidential campaign, as well as his political career, on his support for the war in Iraq.
In an interview with reporters on the back of his campaign bus, the “Straight Talk Express” Monday afternoon, McCain said that even in retrospect he would still have voted to authorize the war, as he did in 2002.
“I think there’s no question,” said the Republican’s likely presidential nominee. “I owe too much to these young people who are serving there to let political considerations interfere with what I know is right.
“I believe the American people, over time, will side with me, but if they don’t I’ll accept that,” he said. “I’d much rather lose a political campaign than lose a war.”
With McCain, I get the sense that even if I don’t agree with his convictions all of the time, at least he stands by them. With Obama, I get a chameleon whose keyword is, “change”.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
Word! You’ve been missed, guy! And I’m very glad you posted this. I heard it last eve, and was hoping the “word” would get spread around!
I could have posted this sooner, but I’ve just been so busy; not even sure I made a coherent post as I didn’t proof-read, but since no one else seemed to be posting on this at FA, I began “panicking” that it would be obsolete “news”, soon.
I just gathered up quick links and hitched a ride. 🙂
Yes McCain says what he will do and does it. I maynotlike it all thetime, but like GWB he sticks with his convictions and does not float in the wind to see what the consensus is, except on the phoney Global Waming crap. I may not like all thathe says, but at least we know what he says he will do it.
Now who’s drinking the kool aid? McCain bends like a reed in the wind…
Signing of the GI Bill: Now enthusiastically for it… after it passed. Previously attacked the Webb Bill. Didn’t even bother to vote on it.
http://bravenewfilms.org/…
Campaign reform: On political reform, McCain last January opposed a grassroots lobbying bill he once supported. In 2006, the “New York Sun” reported that his presidential ambitions led McCain to reverse his support of a campaign financial bill called McCain/Feingold.
http://www.nysun.com/…
Alien Minors Act/Immigration: Last October he said he would vote against the development, relief and education for Alien Miners Act that he co-sponsored, and then said he would vote against an immigration bill that he introduced.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Gay Marriage: In 2006, he said on “HARDBALL,” quote, I think that gay marriage should be allowed. Then after the commercial break he added, I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Abortion: On abortion, 1999, publicly supporting Roe v. Wade, privately opposing it in a letter to the National Right to Life Committee. In the 2000 debates, he would change the GOP platform to permit exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. May 2007, “flipped”, ABCNews.com reported.
http://abcnews.go.com/…
Nuclear Waste: No Storing Nuclear waste at Yucca mountain earlier..now flipped
http://www.lasvegassun.com/…
Negotiating with Kim Jong-Il: Negotiating with Kim Jong-Il not acceptable until President Bush did it last week.
http://bondibox.newsvine.com/…
Negotiating with Cuba/Castro: With Fidel Castro acceptable in 2000, not 2008.
http://vids.myspace.com/…
Negotiating with Hamas/Terrorists: …with terrorists appropriate when Colin Powell went to Syria and in 2006 when McCain said sooner or later we‘ll talk to Hamas, but not appropriate now re: Obama’s willingness to use diplomacy.
http://bondibox.newsvine.com/…
Pakistan: Unilateral action against suspected terrorists in Pakistan; “Confused leadership” when Obama suggested it, not when Bush did it.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…
Warrantless Wire-taps: Six months ago, presidents had to obey the law, not anymore.
http://www.nytimes.com/…
Torture: Torture detainees, no way, except for the CIA. Hold them indefinitely, wrong in 2003, the right move in 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Iraq War: The Iraq war, the right course 2004, stay the course 2005. Today, McCain has always been a Rumsfeld critic.
http://thinkprogress.org/…
Tax Cuts: In 2001, he could not in good conscious support them. Now he can.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Estate Tax: 2006, “I agree with President Roosevelt who created it”. In 2008, “most unfair”.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…
Privatizing Social Security: This month not for privatizing Social Security, never has been. In 2004, he “didn‘t see how benefits will last without it”.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Balanced Budget: In February, promised a balanced budget in four years by April, make that eight years.
http://www.perrspectives.com/…
Windfall Profits Tax: In May, glad to look at the windfall profits tax. By June, that was Jimmy Carter’s big idea.
http://flipfloptracker.blogspot.com/…
Offshore Drilling: In 2000, no new off shore drilling. Last month, it would take years to develop. This month, very helpful in the short term.
http://thinkprogress.org/…
Coyotes..Bush Big Time Fund Raisers: The Bush fund-raisers McCain called coyotes breaking the law in 2000. By 2006, they were co-chairing McCain fund-raisers.
http://abcnews.go.com/…
“Agents of Intolerance”: Buddy Jerry Falwell…an “agent of intolerance in 2000”. Kissed Falwell’s ass in 2007… The Reverend Hagee and Parsley in, then out this year alone.
http://www.youtube.com/…
Martin Luther King Holiday: In 1983, opposed Martin Luther King Day. Today, all for it.
http://www.boston.com/…
Confederate Flag: In 2000, defended South Carolina’s confederate flag as a symbol of heritage. Two years later, McCain calling it, quote, an act of political cowardice not to say the flag should come down. Quote, “everybody said, look out. You can’t win in South Carolina if you say that.”
http://www.youtube.com/…
Evolution in Public Schools: In 2005, McCain said alternatives to evolution should be taught in school. “Evolving” the opposite position he had taken in 2000.
http://thinkprogress.org/…
Restoring the Everglades: On June 5, John McCain traveled to the Everglades to win over Floridians and environmentally-minded voters. There he proclaimed, “I am in favor of doing whatever’s necessary to save the Everglades.” Sadly, as ThinkProgress documented, McCain not only opposed $2 billion in funding for the restoration of the Everglades national park, he backed President Bush’s veto of the legislation in 2007. “I believe,” he said, “that we should be passing a bill that will authorize legitimate, needed projects without sacrificing fiscal responsibility.”
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…
Swiftboating: McCain’s sudden embrace of Swiftboating — which today is synonymous with a concerted effort to lie about an opponent’s history — is all the more deplorable because he has hired retired Col. George “Bud” Day, a proud member of the group that Swiftboated Kerry — and someone McCain once described as having “tunnel vision” — to lead what McCain is calling his “Truth Squad.”
http://digg.com/…
GITMO/Habeus Corpus:Despite John McCain’s outrage last week that the Supreme Court ordered Gitmo detainees know why they were being held, or released — Political Base has stumbled upon a McCain appearance on Meet the Press in 2005 where he argued they deserved trials, going so far as to say “if it means releasing some of them, you’ll have to release them.” Shameless.
http://www.politicalbase.com/…
Divestment from South Africa: During his June 2 speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), John McCain called for the international community to target Iran for the kind of worldwide sanctions regime applied to apartheid-era South Africa. Unfortunately, McCain’s lobbyist-advisers Charlie Black and Rick Davis each represented firms doing business with Tehran. Even more unfortunate, John McCain was frequently not among those offering “moral clarity and conviction” in backing “a divestment campaign against South Africa, helping to rid that nation of the evil of apartheid.”
http://thinkprogress.org/…
Opposing Hurricane Katrina Investigations: During a June 4th town hall meeting in Baton Rouge, John McCain answered a reporter’s question regarding Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans levees by announcing:
“I’ve supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy. I’ve been here to New Orleans. I’ve met with people on the ground.”
As it turns out, not so much. McCain’s revisionist history neglects to mention that in 2005 and 2006 he twice voted against a commission to study the government’s response to Katrina. He also opposed three separate emergency funding measures providing relief to Katrina victims, including the extension of five months of Medicaid benefits. And as ThinkProgress pointed out, “until traveling there one month ago, McCain had made just one public tour of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina touched down in August 2005.”
http://thinkprogress.org/…
McCain On His Economic Abilities: “I have not. I have not. Actually, I have not.” “I said that I am stronger on national security issues because of all the time I spent in the military and others. I am very strong on the economy. I understand it. I have a lot more experience than my opponent.”
— Sen. John McCain, in an interview on ABC News, when asked why he “admitted that you’re not exactly an expert when it comes to the economy.”
However, NBC News compiles past McCain quotes in which he said “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should” or “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/…
On Criticizing Obama While “Overseas”: Traveling in Colombia, he told reporters that he wouldn’t criticize Obama while he was overseas, but on the plane, he blasted Obama’s opposition to the proposed Colombia free trade…
http://blogs.abcnews.com/…
UPDATES from KOSsacks:
Temperment and Temper: “My temper has often been both a matter of public speculation and personal concern,” he wrote in a 2002 memoir. “I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public’s.” Not true and not under control, according to many of those on the “W”rong side of McCain’s famous temper.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
Drilling For Oil and Automobile Efficiency: “Last week, Senator McCain reversed himself and said we need to drill more. Today, he has reversed years of failing to support more efficient cars, new energy technologies and green jobs.
http://www.speaker.gov/…
Offshore Drilling: Two weeks ago, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered “a bit of a capitulation to the oil companies” by announcing that he would end the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Not only is McCain’s move a break with environmental activist, but it is also “a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign.
http://thinkprogress.org/…
Payroll Taxes: “When he was asked in 2005 whether he could see himself lifting the cap on the payroll tax, (McCain) said, ‘I could.’ Two years later, during a May 13, 2007, appearance on “Meet the Press,” Russert asked McCain if he was still open to lifting the Social Security tax cap as part of a compromise. “Am I opposed to tax increases?” said McCain. “Yes. But we’ve got to sit down together and figure out what our options are, and tough decisions have to be made, Republicans and Democrats. And I know how to do that.” Asked about the 2005 remark, a McCain spokesman acknowledged the tension with his current position while arguing that the Arizona senator’s criticism of his Democratic rival is still valid because McCain has spoken out against higher Social Security taxes as a 2008 White House hopeful.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/…
Ethics Reform and Abramoff: On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass. A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…
http://digg.com/…
Nice little cut and paste job Fit Fit. Care to share which of your commie sources you got it from?
The more you Hussein-ites want to draw attention to your candidates lack of any solid stand on ANY issue, let alone any experience or “judgement” that you can point to the better.
Now I hear Hussein himself may be about to change his defeat plan for Iraq.
I can’t wait to hear you defeatists howl.
This is just another of the Administration’s repeated attempts of releasing vague measures of progress that paint a pollyanish picture in Iraq –it’s like putting make-up on a bruised and battered prostitute. This criticism in not new either; it is a standard and reasonable critique that the arguments coming out of the WH echo-chambers have stretch marks all over them and when any pressure is applied they snap.
As a case in point, just a week earlier than this embassy ‘report’ the non-partisan GAO report concluded that while a number of legislative benchmarks have been passed by the Iraqi Parliament, in many cases they have not achieved their intended goals or have not been implemented at all. The security situation in Iraq was noted as improved, but serious political issues were listed that must still be solved if there is to be any long-term stability for Iraq.
The problem here is the Administration continues to use vague measures of progress in Iraq to paint a rosy picture. Since the evaluations of the “benchmarks” of progress in Iraq began last year, the Bush Administration has consistently used unclear signifiers, “satisfactory progress” and “unsatisfactory progress.” From last September, the Administration’s benchmark report said 13 benchmarks were reported as either satisfactory or partially satisfactory. However, GAO’s report by contrast found that only 3 of the 18 benchmarks had been met:
I
Some benchmarks claimed as “satisfactory” by the Administration only demonstrated minimal levels of progress, not achievement, while others failed to accomplish the intended purpose of the specific measurement. Today, the Bush Administration continues to use the same vague qualifications to evaluate progress in Iraq. [NSN Benchmark Assessment Report, 9/14/08. GAO, 9/4/08]
II
Key legislation has been passed but it remains unimplemented, which is the much more important benchmark. The Iraqi government has passed legislation on de-Ba’athification reform, amnesty, and provincial powers legislation after considerable debate and compromise among Iraq’s political blocs. But it’s unclear that the intended outcomes of the laws can be achieved. For example, in the case of the amnesty legislation only a very limited number of prisoners had been set free as of May 2008. Moreover, implementation of the de-Ba’athification law has stalled and may end up making it more difficult to bring Sunnis into the government instead of less. [GAO, 6/08]
III
Finally, other key legislation considered critical for national reconciliation has not been enacted. The most important among these measures are laws that define the management of oil and gas resources, and provide for the disarmament of Iraq’s armed groups; both laws remain stalled. Moreover, critical issues such as integrating the Sunni Sons of Iraq into the central government, holding free and fair provincial elections and solving the dispute over Kirkuk are all outstanding. [GAO, 6/08.] To my surprise there’s no mention I found discussing the real possibility that there may be no election laws passed for the Oct provincial election — which is critical as far as Sunnis are concerned and may also be considered critical if Sadrists feel elbowed out and decide to step up violence.
I said 4 benchmarks were met here (post 7):
Of course, you may counter with the recent Pentagon report released the same week as the GAO, but again, their observations of Iraq’s progress are colored and bound by their superiors in the WH. Under examination their conclusions wax thin and can’t keep up with the beating of other arguments that the see the conclusions in Iraq as mired in pandoras’ box.
Now this is not ‘gloom and doom’ sad-sacking; it’s real-time, critical exhaustive analysis that looks at more realism than the shortsighted and partial spectrum of affairs that unfold in Iraq.
As another example of this is the Army’s own new 700 page report released last week detailing all the mismanagement in staffing and planning in the early occupation of Iraq.
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/06/30/army-report-says-iraq-occupation-understaffed/
We are still workout all the kinks from that yard of screwups in some of these benchmarks.
The ‘miracle’ of the ‘walled city’ (Baghdad) is great, if it were true, but it’s not. Deaths are down and that’s great, but clean water, electric, even finding a doctor is remote. The city is brittle and can snap like a twig as the election’s weight forces another dynamic arrangement of power plays.
Now, in the walled city, as of a few day ago, people that own cars spend their day in miles of lines getting gas. The solo southern pipline was blown up the end of last month and for the time being is now choking the walled city out of gas.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAuBrzOe1HPqakyvaVqR1R3D6FBgD91L5JV84
It’s good deaths are down in Iraq, but that’s a metric (like that other spoken metrics) so elementary, so primordial as indicators for stability that analogically it posits a heart beat, bleeding stopped and accents a ‘stable recovery’ without acknowledging the full reality of the trauma.
Must be the new moveon.org talking points in Fit Fit’s reply. Its one thing to change one’s mind, its another thing to LIE just to get the Democratic nomination. Ralph Nader probably will get 3,000,000+ votes because of this lie, he got 2,883,105 votes in 2000
Here’s what NObama said today:
“My 16-month time line, if you examine everything that I’ve said, was always premised on making sure that our troops were safe. I said that based on the information that we had received from our commanders that one to two brigades a month could be pulled out safely from a logistical perspective. And my guiding approach continues to be that our troops are safe and that Iraq is stable.” – http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/07/barack-obama-ir.html
Here’s what’s on his website (for now… – http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/#judgment)
Barack Obama’s Plan
Judgment You Can Trust
As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.
* In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail;
* In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops;
* In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq’s neighbors;
* In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008.
* In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.
Bringing Our Troops Home
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
God bless America. And just to make that point, God has turned down the sun. I dare Al Gore to go up there and turn it back up.
Dang, Doug… you must be one really tough guy to buy Christmas presents for…. :0)
Repeat after me… glass half full, glass half full, glass half *full*. Try cheering on the Iraqis for a change. They want to be stable and sans US troops as much as we want our warriors home.
BTW, sorry for the delay in getting your post to appear. Found it in the “spam” batch and got it released. But remember, spam filters are bi-partisan….
Added thoughts… last year it was all about whining about benchmarks. Now that the same benchmarks have more measure of success, it’s about the “illusions” of benchmarks – i.e. not “benchmarked” to the DNC satisfaction.
Just how does one score with the anti-free-Iraq crowd when you keep moving the goal posts?? Is there any situation and instance where you would look at Iraq and say “hooo ya” to both the troops and Iraqis for a long fought battle for an elected Arab democracy? In which case, do define that “moment” for us. At least everyone will know what pleases your side of the issue.
…just passing on reports and reporting that you all have not posted.
You want to do something interesting? Let’s look at just one benchmark at a time. There’s only 18.
How about us taking a hard look at all of them; say one per week?
Doug, Curt has a FA “reader post” system. (see the top right corner for Reader Post Submissions). You see many of these from Dupray, Buffoon, nocommie, etal.
Curt, the “founding father of FA”, so to speak, is one fair guy. I suspect if you submitted a cogent post for submission – even tho he doesn’t agree with it – you could do this “series” and start the cyber dialogue.
Then again, I can’t speak for Curt. It is his site. But knowing who he is, and his belief in the 1st amendment and the value of reasoned debate, all you can do is offer it up. I suggest you do so.
Ugh! Do we really have to read Doug’s cherry pickings on the main page? I already have enough of his cherries to bake a pie!
It’s clear Doug prefers the filter of defeat over the facts of progress. It’s a state of denial that refuses to accept what even the most ardent anti-war elected Democrat, perhaps even the great Obama himself, are coming to realize is that the perception of Iraq has changed from the picture of doom and gloom they succesfully painted for so many years.
Can fully understand the frustration of starting from the “glass half full” perspective on an FA post, Mike’sA. Would feel down right alien to read so to speak. Not to mention Doug is talking about a subject where we really have no credible “source” data… just journalists making it up as they go along. Afterall, there’s no C-Span in the Iraq Assembly, and none of us speak the language. It’s a no man’s land, open to propaganda.
‘Personally I think what Doug suggests as a subject is an exercise in futility, as it’s a time sensitive subject, and our sources questionable and limited. So, for myself, I have no personal interest in such a series. Why Doug thinks he has such an absolute on the complex differences between Iraqis on each benchmark is beyond me.
But then, the decision of whether this is a worthy subject is not up to me. I defer to Curt’s judgment.
But Doug… just so you know. I am an invited guest author here, as are other authors. Curt has actually broken new ground by dabbling in the experiment of “reader posts” here most recently. It’s a step above, for example, DailyKO’s “diaries” as it appears along side the authors’ pieces.
But I don’t know if he wants to advance into the “reader counterpoint posts”. Curt has worked long and hard to establish a well known conservative blog in cyberspace…. not an easy thing to do. And let’s get serious… there’s little about you that’s conservative.
Therefore he owes you and your counter viewpoints,… or even me, Mike and others… absolutely nothing. If he decides that having opposition view points for reader posts” is counterproductive to his current promotion of Flopping Aces, I really don’t want to hear one snippet of criticism or cries of foul from you. This is, afterall, his blog. The rest of us are privileged guests.
So I suggest if you have a viewpoint that he prefers to not be posted here with you as an author, then get your own blog, and link it here thru your signature, as the rest of us do. The Google blogspots are free to start. You can be blogging in minutes.
However if Curt really goes out on a *totally* unique limb, offering a reader “counterpoint” submission as part of the FA format – you should feel honored and do what you can to be worthy of his gift of exposure. His work and creation deserves respect. I certainly feel honored, and quite responsible for fairness with my own gift of author’ship privileges. Do any less, or bad mouth him in anyway, and I’ll haunt you in every corner of cyberspace myself! LOL
Did someone mention benchmarks?
Check out this piece from Der Speigel on the good news coming out of Iraq.
It looks like the European press hacks are doing a better job reporting the good news out of Iraq than our homegrown hacks.
Doug has shown himself to be exactly the type as Mata described. Glass half empty. From reading his many comments there will never be a day that he calls Iraq a success. But taking his liberal bent into account I could consider a debate post like Scott had with a well informed reader last year:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Now granted, I parsed their comments into posts but if Doug wants to submit his argument for each benchmark and one of us is allowed to answer that argument for each post I see nothing wrong with that. Flopping Aces has never pretended to be anything other then a conservative blog (even tho there are two authors who are registered Democrats….you don’t have to be Republican to be conservative, just have some common sense) so I feel no need to allow posts from liberals. Debates in the comments are encouraged tho and its the rare commenter who has been banned (the few that have been banned we’re banned after repeated warning about their behavior).
If anyone can find the report that Ambassador Ryan Crocker and our embassy in Baghdad prepared at the request of Congressman McIntyre, drop a link here would you?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/01/AR2008070102860.html
Had to dig it out of the millions of GAO reports, Mike. But here’s the link to the full 94 pg report.
While we’re at it, I spotted a a June 08 report on Afghanistan Security that I want to read. Perhaps others might as well.
And for anyone as anal about bookmarks as I am…. here’s the the search page for GAO reports and testimonies.