Obama to Reveal His Plan for Iraq

[Alhena]

Very interesting- not the kind of thing a junior Senator would do, unless he's planning on running for president. Run, Barack, Run!


http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=76001

[blm]

1. That is interesting - wonder whose plans he'll be offering. When you consider

he has never had any military planning experience, he must have someone crafting the plans for him.

[Alhena]

3. I'm sure he will have help

I'm sure he has advisers, but he is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, which means he's very, very bright. He has said before he supports a "phased withdrawal" of troops, so I'm assuming he'll announce a more detailed version of that plan.

[blm]

7. Different from the ones offered before? That will be interesting considering that

Iraq has now been in civil war for almost a year. And that is something that few DEms will even state as a fact, because party line won't let them.

[goclark]

42. Yes! He is brilliant! What a change

Someone with brains,style and substance.
He also has a world view and can see things with YOUNG yet mature eyes.
Someone the world will look up to and not want to run away from`

OBAMA is a class act with magnetic attraction to people of all ages.


Before you put him DOWN,let's hear what he has to say on the issues.

As Democrats, this is not the time, IMO, to put anyone down.

He is on our TEAM and I want to be a TEAM player.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Alhena]

4. Worldwide consensus?

We had a worldwide consensus to liberate Kuwait, NOT to topple Saddam.

[blm]

5. There are plans that sound good and there are plans that are DOABLE.

I look for what is right and DOABLE.

[Tight_rope]

6. Welcome to DU DesertStormVet!...But you forgot one thing...

We (US) should have never been in Iraq with Bush 41 or 43.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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[saigon68]

39. Looks like DesertStormVet had a short stay

Too bad we can't see what he/her said

[wordpix]

9. the statement says, "next steps in Iraq," not "plan"

[JoFerret]

12. Desert Storm was a fool's errand

too.
Obama with a plan? Hmmm. Now there's a parade needs some drizzling on.

But - good luck to anyone with constructive ideas for how to get out of this mess that bushco created for us. And some mess it is too. A horrible ghastly tragedy of enormous proportions that we will have to live with for decades (in terms of loss of life, treasure, prestige).
They made the mess - then they cut and ran from it.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[torrentprime]

17. Hey

I'm new here and neither a liberal nor a progressive. I opposed the GOP this cycle and did so proudly, but one thing you need to be prepared for on this board is some pretty reflexive anti-"anything any Republican ever did." You need to let it roll off you and just post and debate on the issues you may have some common ground on, or at least are not diametrically opposed on. I look forward to some great debates on Democratic policy here, and I expect to be thoroughly reviled as the libertarian here, but that's part of political debate. And ignoring people who think that Iraq I was a bad idea is a big part of that. I came here to help oppose the current GOP, and now that they're out, we'll see where it goes.
(and yes, we needed to go in to Iraq the first time)

[karynnj]

18. Desertstormvet

Looking over your posts, I'm not sure what you want. It would seem to me to be a good idea to wait to see what Obama proposes before dismissing it out of hand. On most issues, Senators would work with people who have knowledge and expertise on an issuein preparing their plans. I would assume that this is what Obama has done.

It is legitimate to disagree with any policy including that which puts the country at war. In fact, if in good faith, you feel the policy is wrong it is more patriotic to work through the system to try to get the government to change the policy than to blindly support it. However, we must never confuse the war with the warrior. The soldier fighting for us deserves respect even from those of us that disagreed on the war from the start.

I stole the bolded phrase in the last sentence because I could not say it better and because the man who said it made me, a person who was a college student in the early 70s, more aware of the contributions and nobility of the people who actually fight when our country is taken to war. That person was John Kerry. It is clear that you are referring to the RW distortion that he was criticizing the troops. Even the Republicans who repeated that idea knew they were lying.

This link goes to a story from a man whose twin brother was killed in Afghanistan and tells more about the type of person Senator Kerry really is - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/31/175122/71 . Senator Kerry introduced legislation for his plan for Iraq last summer. The comments on the Senate floor by Senator Warner were interesting. Senator Warner recognized that it was a serious plan with many parts he found thoughtful and interesting - though he thought it was not timely. Warner also went to great lengths to note that like himself, Senator Kerry cares for the troops, goes to funerals and hospitals. These are all things Senator Kerry never speaks of - he just does.


If you find the transcript of Kerry's full Senate testimony from 1971, you would find that he was as concerned that the returning veterans be given what they need - which wasn't happening - as he was for lobbying to end a war. Kerry acted as an advocate for veterans needing medical assistance. He advocated for the military to look into PTSD. In 1971, a few months after testifying before the Senate, he left VVAW and was a co-founder of the more moderate VVA. In 1971, his concern was not for himself - he was healthy and well connected enough that he himself did not need assistance.

You also need to consider that John Kerry was asked to speak to the Senate committee on the Winter Soldier hearings. What he did was to do that as succinctly as possible and to spend more time on a pleas to end the war and for the government to keep its implicit promises to the men that served. He did this eloquently and well - which is why the Nixon administration targeted him. Kerry's truths made his a threat to them.

If you go to Johnkerry.com and look in the video section, you can see a speech called Dissent. That speech, to some degree shows where he was coming form in both 1971 and now. Whether you agree with his assessment of the military policy or not, what is apparent is his deep respect for the soldiers as people.

In the aftermath of Vietnam, Robert McNamara wrote in "Fog of War" that the architechs of the Vietnam War knew it could not be won as early as 1968. The terms of peace in 1973 were identical to those available in 1968. In that interval over 25,000 people lost their lives - all because leaders were afraid of how it would look if they "lost" a war. Consider that that was the time Senator Kerry served and when at least 5 close friends died.

About a month ago, several Republicans said that a major policy change was needed and that it would be addressed after the election. The only person I heard on all the talk shows I watched question the morality of waiting over a month to change a failed policy was Senator Kerry. If I had a child in the military, I would want my political leaders to put that effort and my child's life about the timing of an election.

I assume I am likely wasting my time saying these things. The RW is now into its fourth decade smearing John Kerry. I challange you to look into what he has actually said and done over his life for veterans. You will find that his record of actually doing things for veterans is in contrast to those who trash him, while allowing a huge deficit in the funding of the VA. He has had a great record on supporting veterans in the Senate. (See his Senate web site Kerry.senate.gov or JohnKerry.com.)

I saw in other posts that you think that Pelosi is "too shrill" and that Lieberman would be a better leader. Here too, Pelosi has been in the position of leader of the opposition, at a time when the Republican pundits, like Norquist, argued that Democrats were irrelevent and not to even be consulted. It might be better to give Pelosi some slack until you see how she will act as Speaker of the House. She has been demonized by the right, but she may surprise you.

While the media has had many articles referring to Lieberman as nice or genial, that is not the impression I get hearing him speak of how he will bear grudges against Democrats who backed the DEMOCRATIC candidate over him. (See Imus transcript on November 8 on MSNBC.com) That takes a lot of chutpah. Maybe Lieberman needs to define what HIS Iraq plan is - he was so eager that we invade and so adament we now stay - that he should be held to the same standard as those wanting an alternative - WHERE IS HIS PLAN?

[IndianaGreen]

10. Obama has a plan on the table, while Hillary is "evolving" on Iraq

as she is on same sex marriage. Now, who has more substance, one who puts a plan out for discussion or one that is "evolving" to see which way the wind blows?

[Alhena]

11. Obama was right from the beginning ...

This is what Obama said about the Iraq war BEFORE it started:

http://www.blackcommentator.com/45/45_dixon.html

"I don't oppose all wars ... What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
"What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Roves to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income ... to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone thru the worst month since the Great Depression.

"That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics .... "

[IndianaGreen]

13. Critics and nay-sayers say that Obama is "too green" to be President

yet this man had more savvy about Iraq than more experienced members of Congress that eagerly voted for the Iraq War Resolution.

[Alhena]

14. Honestly, I'd walk through fire for this man ...

he inspires me like no other Democratic politician in my lifetime. If he didn't run it would be devastating for me, but with each passing day it looks better and better in that regard.

[IndianaGreen]

15. Please keep us posted on Obama's Chicago speech on Iraq

I am sure that Obama will get lots of press coverage and, unlike some in here that expect a speech similar to other speeches given by other Democratic leaders, I expect Obama to come out with a practical plan around which we can all rally to bring about peace in Iraq and a US withdrawal. In other words, I expect Obama's plan to be closer to Kerry or Murtha's plans, rather than to Biden.

[JoFerret]

19. Through fire? Crikey

I would certainly vote for him if he is our candidate. Meanwhile I can always hope for a stronger (on the issues) candidate to emerge from the meat grinding process of nomination.

[never cry wolf]

24. WooHoo Alhena... Welcome to DU

TUVM for the quotes... Barack seems to get unjustifiably bashed here on DU... No one will be left enough....

:hi:

[Mass]

22. Hillary offered a plan two weeks ago. The same one that others have offered

in the past: no deadline, but pulling the troops in rear guarnisons and withdraw as soon as we can.

It will be interesting to see if Obama has something significatif to offer compared to the various plans already offered by different Democrats or if it is just a way to say he is going to run.

It will also be interesting to see if the plan is different from the plan Obama offered about one year ago, with troops withdrawing in 2 years.

[Mass]

20. How many plans are the Democrats going to offer.

They are 2 or 3 different plans, so it will be interesting to see whose plan he will join.

[blm]

23. Obama should explain what he found WRONG with withdrawal plans now that he's STUDIED

the plans and understands the military so well - Wouldn't that be great if he could do that? I mean, we must have been really dumb to fall for those unworthy withdrawal plans from Murtha, Kerry and Feingold. Now Obama can explain it all for us.

[mtnsnake]

34. Withdrawal plans from Murtha & Kerry? Kerry doesn't hold a candle to Murtha

when it comes to getting out of Iraq, and he won't hold a candle to Obama when it comes to the 2008 primaries.

"President Obama". I like the sound of it!

[blm]

36. Murtha backed up Kerry's withdrawal plan - and Obama will have every opportunity to debate

his withdrawal plan over the series of debates, won't he? Along with every other area of his considerable expertise. Seems to me Obama can make awesome speeches chastising Dems for the liberal views and awesome generalizations regarding the state of American morals but may have trouble actually DEBATING the details against others.

[PtotheJ]

21. Obama for '08

He is awesome. I'd like to see an Obama/Clark ticket.

That would be awesome

[leesa]

25. What an opportunist he is!

[American liberal]

26. Unusual for a junior senator, yes, but not necessarily wrong for a

junior senator who sits on the foreign relations committee?

[krkaufman]

27. Sure would've been handy if he'd released his plan ...

... at a campaign rally for Lamont in Connecticut, before Tuesday.

[hedgehog]

38. You mean, make the election about Obama and not Bush?

[TankLV]

28. Let me guess - "blame Kerry"? Fuck ford...

NOBODY

I mean NOBODY would be paying ANY attention to ANYTHING he had to say if he weren't black.

That's the truth.

I hate racism in any form...

[AtomicKitten]

30. If you think people are only paying attention to him

because he is black, that constitutes racism; I find it ironic that you claim to hate the very thing are doing, consciously or not.

Obama is a bright, articulate, charismatic figure. I would think that consensus opinion would be obvious.

If you resent him for occupying the limelight you would prefer to see directed elsewhere, your attempt at disguising that by eschewing racism is transparent.

[TankLV]

40. Nice try...it ain't gonna work...I stand by my statements...

deal with it - it's the TRUTH...

[Telly Savalas]

44. Well, if you used the caps lock key, then I guess it must be the truth.

[Tellurian]

41. OBama is doing the right thing..now that Kerry has BLOWN himself out

of presidential contention. OBama is smart enough to key in to TOP military advisers.
No doubt many who have been let go by the Bush Administration. OBama, takes up the slack
now that Kerry is just a memory. I Like OBama, as well.

[Mass]

31. What? What does this have to do with Ford anyway. Obama is charismatic.

No point to attack him like that. He is entitled to make his point the same way all others are. And we will see if he gets more buzz Hillary got two weeks ago. She was totally ignored.

[mtnsnake]

33. What a dumb & disrespectful thing to say about Obama. Propaganda at its worst.

[Telly Savalas]

43. That's the dumbest fucking thing I've read this calendar year.

[w4rma]

29. "unveil" a plan? What about existing plans that Dems have put out?

Is there any reason that he is grandstanding on a wholly new plan when he can work towards a consensus from existing plans?

[MadJohnShaft]

32. There's no one else that can win unless repubs run a real dud

[Nimrod2005]

35. HELL YES, all people, ALL OF THEM, need to be bringing their ideas forward

GOD knows we can use the discussion, the debate, the exchange of views on imprtant things like:

WAR!!!

[hedgehog]

37. So he starts his Presidential bid by flatly stating what he would do

in office? An honest statement of where he stands so people can judge whether or not they agree with him? HOW DARE HE! Everyone knows you get elected by running focus groups, sounding out shakers and movers and generally feeling out which way the wind blows. Never,ever, ever take a stand. Get all the big money people behind you and make all your back room deals first. How can he expect people to take him seriously as a candidate if all he has are ideas and forthright honesty?