In his latest column on Iraq, New York Times Far Left columnist Frank Rich reported this on radical Barack Obama’s statements on the war:
“The fact is that Mr. Obama frequently recognizes “the reduction of violence in Iraq” (his words) and has said he is “encouraged” by it. He has never said that he would refuse to consult with commanders on the ground, and he has never called for a precipitous withdrawal.”
To put this in proper context let’s break down this partial paragraph into segments:
Part 1: On Obama admitting success in Iraq:
The fact is that Mr. Obama frequently recognizes “the reduction of violence in Iraq” (his words) and has said he is “encouraged” by it.
This past week Obama did finally admit that the surge was a success.
However, his website still has this posted:
Obama’s website is wrong about the violence in Iraq– US fatalities are at an all-time low in Iraq. Violence is down throughout Iraq. In Anbar Province alone it’s down 80-90%.
Obama said the military surge would never work— Then he repeated it wasn’t working . He often squirmed when asked about it at the Democratic debates.
The problem is– The surge did work and now he’s forced to admit it.
Obama was wrong.
Part 2: On Obama consulting with commanders:
“He has never said that he would refuse to consult with commanders on the ground.”
This is what Obama said about consulting with commanders:
“And, Senator Obama, your campaign manager, David Plouffe, said, ‘When he is’ — this is talking about you – ‘When he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in 16 months at the most. There should be no confusion about that.’ So you’d give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order to bring them home?” Obama: “Because the commander-in-chief sets the mission, Charlie. That’s not the role of the generals. And one of the things that’s been interesting about the president’s approach lately has been to say, ‘Well, I’m just taking cues from General Petraeus.’ Well, the president sets the mission. The general and our troops carry out that mission.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)
Part 3: Obama on precipitous withdrawal:
“He has never called for a precipitous withdrawal.”
Here’s Obama a few weeks back in April:
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a Democratic candidate for president, said on Tuesday that the United States should set a timetable to pull its troops out of Iraq.
Amazing.
This was just a partial paragraph written by NY Times columnist Frank Rich.
That is pretty sad. You could just imagine how bad the rest of his column must be.
No wonder he writes for the NY Times.
More… Glenn Reynolds sees more positive news on Iraq at the NY Times.
It’s just too bad Frank Rich has to make his up.
UPDATE: Astute Bloggers has great advice for Bush on Iraq.
