Barack Obama’s Plan for Iraq
by John Little on 14/07/2008There’s only one problem with Obama’s plan. OK, there are many of problems with his plan but by far the largest problem is that it isn’t really a plan at all. First we have a “goal” – we’ll call that goal surrender:
Only by redeploying our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government.
He stops short of proposing to call this Operation Frequent Wind but why not? Just for old time’s sake. Still, Obama may not achieve this goal so like all politicians he’s leaving himself tons of wiggle room:
In carrying out this strategy, we would inevitably need to make tactical adjustments. As I have often said, I would consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government to ensure that our troops were redeployed safely, and our interests protected. We would move them from secure areas first and volatile areas later.
The political strategy employed here may be more dangerous than it seems. The “consult with commanders” line that he’s tossing around these days is either your typical political escape hatch (to be employed if he keeps the troops deployed longer than liberals would like) or an outright lie to convince moderates and conservatives that he’ll carry out a responsible withdrawal. Of course, I suspect that it’s an outright lie. He’ll consult with them alright, but will he heed their advice? Not a chance. Anyway, there’s more. Like all good Democrats he believes that we can skip the hard work and just write a check to solve any remaining problems:
We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.
I’m not sure which refugee crisis he’s referencing here. Is it the one created by the war or the much larger one that will be created by his rapid withdrawal? It doesn’t matter, to Obama at least, it appears that he wants to end the war at any cost and the fact-finding trips, consultations with military brass, and tactical adjustments are all window-dressing on a surrender that he plans to orchestrate at a time when victory is most certainly within reach.
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