Obama on Iraq

[Barack Obama-sac]

History and Background

On February 5, 2003 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security Council on allegations that Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was producing chemical and biological weapons and that Iraq’s government had ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaida (“Iraq War Timeline”). Powell and CIA Director, at the time, George Tennet spent days at CIA Headquarters trying to build the case against Suddam Hussein—putting together all types’ intelligence they had. Among the intelligence they had were satellite photos, transcripts from meeting with defectors of the Iraqi government, and audio tapes of intercepted cell phone conversations regarding “nerve agents” they have produced in their labs. The satellite photos showed different photos of equipment in place; chemical weapons bunkers, decontamination vehicles, and unmanned aircraft capable of spraying chemical and biological weapons within a 500 mile radius. In this report as well, Powell presented a recorded conversation from two top officers of Saddam’s army giving proof to the fact they lie to and deceit U.N. Weapons inspectors.

March 17, 2003—President Bush, over international television, tells Suddam Hussein and his sons they have 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war (“Iraq War Timeline”). The 1st Marine Division moves north to the Kuwait-Iraq border, waiting on one order. As they wait, soldiers continuously reinforce their training through various drills and mock battle situations. They find little sleep in the “battle positions” they have dug, knowing they won’t be used as the fight will be in the cities of Iraq. On March 19, immediately 48 hours after President Bush ordered Suddam and his sons out of Iraq, American fighter jets and bombers launch air attacks on Iraqi artillery, armored tank, and air craft divisions. As U.S. military vehicles advance north, Cruise Missiles soar through the air from U.S. Naval ships en route to various positions in Baghdad suspected of holding Saddam Hussein and top Iraqi army officers, to capture Baghdad and to begin the rebuilding.

About 2 months after the invasion of Iraq, May 1, 2003, President Bush declares “Mission Accomplished” on an emotional visit to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, on its way back from combat operations in the Persian Gulf (“Iraq War Timeline”). Sailors, officers, and commander’s watch as their Commander-In-Chief addresses them on a job well done and grateful service to our nation. On December 13, 2003 U.S. forces found and captured the Ace of Spades, Suddam Hussein (“Iraq War Timeline”). He was seeking refuge on a farm 10 miles from his home town of Tikrit, in a deep hole in the ground just off the Tigris River. Critics say this is the pivotal part in ending the war.
5 years later however, U.S. forces are still conducting combat operations throughout the country of Iraq. There are over 130,000 American troops in Iraq, 4,124 of which have been killed since the start of the war (“U.S. Casualties in Iraq”). Though there is much debate over the actual cost of the war, critics say the realistic cost of this war is over 3 trillion dollars (Katel). Since 2002 Barack Obama, Senator of Illinois and 2008 Democratic Candidate, has been against any plans to invade and conduct combat operations in the country of Iraq. Obama stated in a speech in Chicago that, “…on my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war” (Obama).

Obama’s Stance on Iraq

Senator Barack Obama has clearly stated his position on U.S. involvement in Iraq. Obama constantly criticizes the Bush administration for invading Iraq. “We continue to be in a war that should never have been authorized. I am proud of the fact that way back in 2002, I said that this war was a mistake” (Zeleny). Barack Obama sees the Iraq War as a wider theater of war and potential wars engulfing the entire Middle East, where strategic goals and interests are at stake. It could be simply summed as this: de-escalate the war in Iraq. Although Obama stance wants to withdraw troops from Iraq, he plans on leaving a small troop presence there. Nothing like U.S. bases in South Korea but enough troops to train Iraqi security forces and force protection. Keeping these forces involves 2 key concepts: the fortification of certain areas and instillations along with the state of “preparedness” to go to war.

Barack Obama’s troop withdraw timetable has been a source of discussion. Military experts say that 16 months is too little time to withdraw all the military gear and equipment on ground, that it would be nearly “impossible” (Miller, Davis, Wallace). Barack Obama seems to be constantly making changes to or adding more to his timetable. In a June ABC News debate, Obama “…seemed to stand by his campaign manager’s unambiguous pledge to have troops out of Iraq in 16 months” (Miller, Davis, Wallace). But on July 3, 2008 at Fargo, North Dakota press conference he tweaked his 16 month timetable again, mentioning that “…examining the conditions on ground…” would have to take place. Brian Rogers, a McCain delegate, asserts that:
Today, Barack Obama reversed that position, proving once again that his words do not matter. He [Barack Obama] has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground.

Barack Obama’s website mentions that before we went to war in Iraq, he warned the war had too many undetermined variables. His website site mentions how he was so opposed to the war and that his rival John McCain has supported the president more than anyone else. Obama claims that if elected and once in office, he will bring home troops in a 16 month period. How many times has he visited his so beloved troops in Iraq? In the 5 years we have been at war in Iraq, Senator Barack Obama has visited the troops one time. The troops that fight for his right to run for president, his right to free speech and assembly, the troops that hurt, bleed, and die for America, he has seen them once in Iraq. The same troops that fight for the people of Iraq—the defenders of what is good in this world. Obama has stated over and over that we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting into Iraq. What is careful about planning a 16 month withdraw from a country whose government and people who just need patience in ensuring that they are ready to govern by themselves?

Works Cited

Miller, Sunlen. Davis, Teddy. Wallace, Gregory. “Obama Struggles to Explain Iraq Stance”.
3 July 2008. 26 Oct. 2008. < http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id= 5304404&page=1>.
MSNBC Iraq War Timeline. Ed. Matt Diebel. Ed. Peter Cahill. 22 Oct. 2008
< http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23694433/>.
Obama, Barack. “My Plan for Iraq”. New York Times. 14 July 2008. 26 Oct. 2008.
< http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/opinion/14obama.html>.
Scherer, Michael. “Leaving Iraq: Debate Shifts to When”. TIME. 20 July 2008. 28 Oct. 2008.
.
“U.S. Casualties in Iraq”. GlobalSecurity.org. Ed. John Pike. 27 Oct. 2009. 29 Oct. 2009.
< http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm>.
Zeleny, Jeff. “As Candidate, Obama Craves Antiwar Stance”. New York Times. 26 Feb. 2007.
19 Oct. 2008.
wanted=1&_r=1>.


Written by Jacob Patton

[mbowman15]

The war in Iraq is probably the biggest issue facing the presidential candidates of this race. It has been a very controversial issue since the beginning and will remain to be such as long as we are in Iraq. I am a strong supporter of that what Bush did was right. We were attacked and would have been continued to have been attacked if we hadn’t done something about it. While sadly the only option was war, it was the right action and there is nothing that can be done about it now anyways. We can’t talk about what we would have done, which is all Obama does. He talks about how he wouldn’t have gone to war and how he would have done this or he would have done that. But that isn’t the issue. The issue is what he is going to do now with the current situation. He talks about a withdraw and while that sounds nice and while that would be awesome to have our troops home, his plan would only cause more trouble than it would solve. His plan to be out in 16 months has been refuted by every military expert and by anyone who has a brain. Yet he continues to say he will do this? Can we trust this kind of man who doesn’t listen to the people who know best? I feel as if Obama would only lead us into a deeper war that would result with more American deaths. And as far as supporting our troops, Obama has only been once and that makes me mad. Bush has been numerous times and McCain has too and McCain knows what it means to be a soldier.

[Jared Nichols]

Good point...".... when you sign up to be in a military branch, you have to come to the realization that when your nation is at war and it’s your time to go that you do have a possibility of dying for you nation." -Jacob Patton.

[Jared Nichols]

Most everyone has stated that they think to leave now would be worthless and would be like we were there for nothing. I do believe this as well. Now the fact that people say we shouldnt have been over there at all is kinda dumb. I think that things needed to be taken care of, maybe not in the way we did it but atleast with some kind of force. We shouldnt have just sat back and taken the hit on those buildings with out doing anything. There is no amount of "talking things out" that could of taken care of what happend to us. This doesnt meen im completely for the war, but something deffinatly needed to be done. The main problem was we didnt go about it in the right manner. A little more time for planning would maybe made a different/ better outcome on the war on terror.

[Danielle]

I Believe on the stand that Obama is taking on the war. The war has put this nation's economy to a low, it has cost thousands of american lives and obviously is costing more than is giving at this moment. The best thing for the nation is to bring the troops back and start restoring the economy and focus on the issues that americans are facing everyday like financial struggle, education, immigration and healthcare matters. McCain seems to be war driven and not wise like Obama, its time for a change and to rebuild the country back to how it used to be pre-911.

[Nicole]

I agree with Obama's stance on the war. This war is unessecary. I believe instead of focusing on other countries we should be working on fixing our own. We are almost $10 trillion in debt. RIDICULOUS! Our economy sucks, gas is outrageous and yet we continue to fight a war in a country that doesn't concern us. I know alot of people who have relatives and loved ones in Iraq fighting for something and they don't even know if they're going to make it home. We need to get our troops out of Iraq.

[Alysa]

The war is always a source of heated discussion. Generally, most people I talk to say they are "sick" of fighting (as if they are actually stuck in Iraq) and they want to pull the boys out from fighting "worthlessly" for a pointless war. Now I don't know what their true intentions are, I don't know if they care more about our soldiers or how the war is affecting their bank accounts, but I do know that there is a legitimate reason to be in Iraq. Contrary to CNN and other media, the Iraqi people are thankful for our help, they want us to bring peace to their war-torn country. As for the troops, I'm pretty sure the general consensus is that they have a job to finish and if they were pulled out it would imply that their work thus far has been worth nothing. I hear many people say president Bush is in this for oil and doesn't care about the troops, yet I wonder: why would he take all of this flak and grief for being overseas unless he felt strongly convicted that it was right? I have yet to hear a legitimate argument for pulling the troops home; most people I talk to only care about how the war affects themselves, not our country or the troops. It seems that from Obama's flip-flopping on the issue(according to your essay) that he is trying to please the masses that only aim to please themselves.

[Barack Obama-sac]

A Veteran’s Thoughts
Analysis from Jacob Patton (posted by Lirvin)

We cannot have plans to leave Iraq early or prematurely. The U.S. would have a larger problem on their hands than they realize. Yes, wars are costly. From the billions of dollars to the loss of lives in combat, war is very costly. Newsflash: THIS IS A DAM WAR! As an infantry brother once discussed with me, “Those aren’t candy corns flying out of the enemy’s gun barrels and bubble gum popping on the side of the road, THESE ARE BULLETTS AND EXPLOSIONS!” It is unfortunate that people die in battle, but when you sign up to be in a military branch, you have to come to the realization that when your nation is at war and it’s your time to go that you do have a possibility of dying for you nation. The Iraqi people want us there. They are very appreciative that we are helping them rid their country of evil men, men who may kill you if you are not a certain subset of a religion or kill women if they don’t dress a particular way. We have all heard the saying “Finish what you start”. This isn’t about finishing what we start. This is about doing what’s right. Doing what is right in a world of constant moral challenges, the eternal fight between good and evil. The people of Iraq lived by a dictator who was truly evil. What kind of man tests chemical weapons on his own people? Evil. Try to put yourself in their shoes of fearing for your life every day, fearing that your kids aren’t taken away to go into your country’s army, and so many frightening uncertainties. The Iraqi people don’t have to fear any longer. To many of you readers take for granted how great of life you have in these United States. Give the Iraqi people as much time and cooperation they need so they can pursue a free and happy life. We did make a promise to help Iraq, not turn our back on it when they are not secure and not ready to fend for themselves. Basically, Obama wants to withdraw troops because it may take too long and too much money to get Iraq where it needs to be. You have the right to vote for which ever candidate you want. But by choosing to elect Obama you are supporting him withdrawing troops from an Iraq that still needs us. The country of the United States of America must continue to provide aid, government reconstruction and assistance, and security until Iraq can do so for itself. We must do what is morally right.