Obama & Iraq: What Exactly Does He Mean?

Posted on July 5, 2008
Filed Under News |

Barack Obama is saying that he was totally misunderstood by the media for remarks he made earlier this week that made it look as if he might be flip-flopping on his promise to yank combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months of his taking office as president, should he win the election, of course.

Yet, even his current explanations seem fuzzy at best.

According to an Associated Press report, Obama says that if he refines his position on Iraq it relates only to the number of troops left to fight al-Qaida and train the Iraqi army.

But exactly how many troops does Obama think would be needed to remain in Iraq to accomplish this?

And, what would be the measuring stick used to determine when the Iraqi army is trained to the point it no longer needs U.S. help, and how do we know when there has been victory over al-Qaida?

In other words, his “promises” may sound good on the campaign trial, but need lots more explanation  before the November elections.

“I was surprised by how finely calibrated every single word was measured,” Obama told reporters,according to the A.P.  “I wasn’t saying anything that I hadn’t said before.”

Maybe not. But maybe that is the point: Maybe people–and the press–are only now actually listening to what he has said and thinking about what it really might mean?

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