Obama 05: reshape strategy into an aggressive and workable plan that will ensure success in Iraq

[agdlp]

This is quite something else than he has been telling voters. Not a single word saying the war is wrong,...but calls for
" an aggressive and workable plan that will ensure success in Iraq" and "What we owe them in return is a clear, viable plan for success that will bring our soldiers home to their families as soon as possible."


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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement about President Bush's Iraq war speech:

"The American people want and deserve better answers about where we go from here in Iraq.

"With operations costing nearly $5 billion per month, a dramatic decline in recruitment in our armed forces, and ever extending tours of duty for our men and women in uniform, the President needs to realize that the current approach is not working in Iraq. I believe the President must take a realistic look at our current strategy and reshape it into an aggressive and workable plan that will ensure success in Iraq.

"For that to happen, the Administration must establish clear benchmarks and take immediate action to accomplish the goals of getting the Sunnis involved in the political process, completing the Constitution and holding elections on time, making the Iraqi army more representative and a more effective fighting force, and expanding international participation, in both reconstruction and security force training, in Iraq.

"Our men and women are performing magnificently in Iraq under some of the most difficult conditions imaginable. More than 1,700 have already paid the ultimate price for our country. What we owe them in return is a clear, viable plan for success that will bring our soldiers home to their families as soon as possible."

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http://votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=173173