Sep 15 2008
Obama Tried To Extend Troops Stay In Iraq
Until recently, Barack Obama has spent his entire campaign pledging to bring the troops in Iraq home immediately. According to an article by Amir Taheri of the New York Post, Barack Obama attempted to interfere with the U.S/Iraq status of forces agreement, and extend the troops stay in Iraq by one year.
Quoting, on the record, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Taheri says Obama tried to convince Zebari to end negotiations with the U.S., and ask the U.N. to keep the troops in Iraq for one more year-past the current mandate, until a new U.S. President and Administration is in office.
WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.
According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview.
Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.”
Not only would this have left the troops there for one year, more importantly it would have been a major diplomatic setback for the U.S.
If this report is accurate, Obama has not only violated the Logan Act, which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments, but he actually attempted to interfere with war policy trends for no other apparent reason than to win an election.
Did Obama give no consideration to whether or not his actions would damage the U.S. ability to fight the enemy? Did he care? Did Obama try to purposely drive a wedge between the U.S. and the new Iraqi Government?
I am very tired of these liberals, who want nothing more than to see the fall of the United States, no longer wants us to be a superpower, attempt to negotiate our defeat.
Didn’t even bother reading you this time. Saw the by-line and knew. Amir Taheri has been debunked over and over and over for fraudulent claims and misrepresenting hearsay as fact. The guy is a fraud, no wonder he works for the Post.
Had you bothered to read the article you would have read “if this report is accurate.” No doubt you would feel better about the source if it came from Daily Kos.
Taheri has had some credibility problems in the past. He falsely accused the Iranian mullahcracy, who really need no help in villainy, of passing dress-code legislation that required religious minorities to wear color-coded clothes. He offered a weak defense of his story, which was not sourced on the record, and it passed into urban-legend status.
This looks different, if for no other reason than Taheri’s main source goes on the record. Hoshyar Zebari didn’t hide behind a “high-level source in Baghdad” tag for this story.
Zebari’s testimony puts the onus on Obama to explain why he attempted to interfere with the Bush administration’s negotiations despite his having absolutely no authority to do so.
Hoshyar Zebari first came to the Iraqi Government under the tutelage of one Paul Bremer. You remember Bremer, don’t you? He’s the guy that Ken Adelman called “one of the most incompetent people to ever serve in such a key position”, referring to Bremer’s role as Provincial Governor. Ken Adelman.