Barack Obama is stuck between Iraq and a hard place. The Democrats are so committed to a defeat in Iraq that when we start winning they have no idea what to do. They contemplate; should we support the war now, or should we still advocate pulling out and disgracing our country, our brave troops, and the credibility of this great country. They have put themselves in a difficult position.

Barack Obama is trying to walk right down the middle of the road. And we all know what happens when you walk down the middle of the road, you get hit from both sides. Maybe Obama should throw himself under the bus, you never know, it might work, for after all, he is the Great Obama.

Here's the genius Obama at work on the Senate floor on 1/30/07; "That is why today I am introducing the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007. This plan would not only place a cap on the number of troops in Iraq and stop the escalation; more importantly, it would begin a phased redeployment of United States forces with the goal of removing all United States combat forces from Iraq by March 31, 2008, consistent with the expectations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that the President has so assiduously ignored".

So if the Great Obama would have had his way, we would have already suffered a humiliating defeat in Iraq, Al-Qaeda would have terrorist training camps there, where they would still be celebrating to this day.




McCain Camp Mocks Obama for 'Refining' Iraq Position on Web Site
by FOXNews.com
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

John McCain's campaign criticized Barack Obama Tuesday for "refining" his Iraq position on his campaign Web site, as McCain said his general election rival is "directly contradicting" himself on the war.

The New York Daily News first reported that the Obama campaign stripped a line on his site that said the troop surge "is not working."

The Web page now describes an "improved security situation" in Iraq, and no longer lists the subhead, "The Surge," as part of a section titled, "The Problem."

That subhead has been renamed, "Inadequate Security and Political Progress in Iraq."

Like the old entry, the site still states that hundreds of Americans have died since the implementation of the surge and that the Iraqi government has made negligible political progress.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told FOX News it was a standard update to reflect new circumstances in Iraq, in advance of the major policy speech the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee gave in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

He said McCain's campaign has also changed its Web entry on economic matters like the Alternative Minimum Tax, and that it would be foolish for the Obama campaign not to update its own site. He said the update does not diminish Obama's belief that the surge is a tactical maneuver within the context of a massive strategic blunder.

Obama made that point in his speech Tuesday, saying that while the troop surge led to reduced violence, it has cost billions and allowed Al Qaeda to fester in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But McCain said at a town hall meeting that Obama is reversing to tout the merits of the surge he once opposed.

"Flip-floppers all over the world are enraged," McCain said, without mentioning his own Web site alterations, or Obama's. "It is pretty clear that Senator Obama is ... directly contradicting the statements that he made concerning the surge and the war in Iraq for a long period of time. And today we know Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has succeeded."

McCain's campaign also accused Obama of "refining" his withdrawal position by taking out a line on his Web site that said Obama "will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq."

The Web site now says, "Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his secretary of defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government."

The site still says that he wants to remove all brigades by the summer of 2010 — a plan he restated during his address Tuesday.

"Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months," his Web site says.

John McCain is focused on stealing oil in Iraq & Iran, Al Qaeda grows stronger in Afghanistan & Pakistan. ... John McCain ...

Afghanistan is the No. 1 front in the war on terrorism and Washington needs to "finish the job" begun there after the September 11 attacks when U.S.-led and Afghan forces ousted the Islamist Taliban, Senator Barack Obama said in a television interview.

"We have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent .... and I believe this has to be the central focus, the central front, in the battle against terrorism," Obama told the CBS television program "Face the Nation" while in Afghanistan.

Obama, who visited U.S. troops and held private talks with Karzai, said the United States should start planning immediately for a shift of soldiers from Iraq to Afghanistan.

"I think the situation is getting urgent enough that we have to start doing something now," he told CBS.

More than six years after the Taliban was ousted for sheltering al Qaeda, there has been a sharp rise in violence in Afghanistan this year.

The United States has about four times as many troops in Iraq as the 36,000 it has in Afghanistan, yet more U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq in both May and June.

Obama wants to send two more brigades, or some 7,000 U.S. troops, to Afghanistan and shift the emphasis from what he calls the Bush administration's "single-minded" focus on Iraq.

Earlier, Obama discussed terrorism, corruption and drugs with Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since 2001, but said the purpose of this trip was to listen rather than deliver strong messages.

Television pictures showed a relaxed Obama at the heavily guarded presidential palace in Kabul, talking to Karzai and flanked by fellow senators Chuck Hagel, Jack Reed and Afghan ministers.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/19/mccain-camp-reacts-to-ma likis-call-for-withdrawal-voters-dont-care-about-iraqi-leade rs/
QUESTION: Let me give you a hypothetical, Senator McCain. What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there? I understand it's a hypothetical, but it's at least possible.

McCAIN: "Well, if that scenario evolves, then I think it's obvious that we would have to leave because — if it was an elected government of Iraq — and we've been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government, then I think we would have other challenges, but I don't see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people".

To AMERICANS ever wonder where YOUR TAX MONEY go to.
US Congress approves Israel aid increase
AFP
Published: Friday June 27, 2008

The US Congress has approved a 170 million dollar increase in security assistance to Israel as part of its new 10-year, 30 billion dollar defense aid commitment to the Jewish state.

The money for Israel was part of a larger supplemental spending bill that included 162 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation gained final approval in a 92-6 Senate vote late Thursday.

America's pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, welcomed the congressional action, saying it would increase US aid to Israel to 2.55 billion dollars in fiscal year 2009, up from 2.38 billion dollars this year.

"The US commitment to maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge is the cornerstone of American policy in the region," AIPAC said in a statement Friday.

"This year's package holds heightened significance for US security interests, as the US and Israel face new challenges from Iran's drive to acquire nuclear weapons as well as the growing influence of radical anti-western forces to Israel's south in Gaza and to the north in Lebanon."

The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 as part of a new military pact with US allies in the Middle East in a bid to "counter the negative influences" of militant groups Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah as well as arch enemies Iran and Syria.

The aid includes a 20 billion dollar weapons package for Saudi Arabia, a 13 billion dollar package for Egypt, and reportedly arms deals worth at least 20 billion dollars for other Gulf states.

The military aid to Israel reflected an increase in value of more than 25 percent, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said, describing the package as a considerable improvement and very important element for national security.
While our homeless Vets sleep in our streets, unable to get the care or support they need to get whatever possible they can of their lives back.
WAY TO GO, CONGRESS!