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Barack Obama & Joe Biden
The Democrat Foreign Policy Team:
Their Judgment One Year Ago


“I opposed this war from the beginning. I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed the war in 2003. I opposed it in 2004, and 2005 and 2006. I introduced the plan in January to remove all of our combat brigades out of Iraq by next March. And I am here to say that we have to begin to end this war now – not tomorrow, not the next day, not six months from now, but now."
--Barack Obama, September 12 2007

“It's time to turn the corner in my view, gentlemen. We should stop the surge and start bringing our troops home. We should end a political strategy in Iraq that cannot succeed and begin one that can.”
--Joe Biden, September 11 2007



[Click images to enlarge]


September 11, 2007: General David Petraeus was in Washington, DC to present his report to a Democrat-controlled Congress on how the surge of troops in Iraq was working.

Democrats already knew: the war was lost, the surge was a hoax and Patraeus was "not believable". Democrat after Democrat attacked Petraeus before he spoke a word, both professionally and personally.

According to Kevin Mooney, CNS, "On Sept. 11th of last year, when Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq was working, he was met by a hail of criticism from members of Congress who believed it was failing."

On September 10, MoveOn.org ran its infamous full-age "General Betray Us" ad in the New York Times. The NY Times cut the price of the ad 60%, in effect, co-sponsotomh this ad, in a blatant attempt to influence the political debate on the issue.

But then, that last item does not really qualify as "news".



Petraeus' report, and the notion that the surge was working, was attacked throughout the day by a Murderer's Row of Democrats: Hillary Clinton, Harry Ried, Rahm Emanuel and the Democrat presidential ticket of 2008, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

How have the Democrats' predictions of 'retreat and defeat' played out? Was General Petraeus the puppet or the prophet?

In the intervening year, according to a CNSNews.com database, U.S. casualties in Iraq have dropped to the lowest level since the start of the war six years ago. The Iraqi government, meanwhile, has made real, if faltering, progress toward political reconciliation between Iraq’s Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

Just what did General Petraeus report that set off the Democrat Congressional policy poobahs?

What in his report was deceitful? It might be helpful to recall what Petraeus said one year ago today.

As a bottom line up front, the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met. In recent months, in the face of tough enemies and the brutal summer heat of Iraq, coalition and Iraqi security forces have achieved progress in the security arena.

Though improvements have been uneven across Iraq, the overall number of security incidents in Iraq, for example, has declined in eight of the past 12 weeks. During this time, ethnosectarian violence has also been reduced and the number of overall civilian deaths has declined, though both are clearly still at troubling levels.

The progress is a result of many factors. Coalition and Iraqi forces have dealt significant blows to al Qaeda-Iraq and have disrupted Shi'a militia extremists. Additionally in a very significant development, we and our Iraqi partners are being assisted by tribes and local citizens who are rejecting extremism and choosing to help secure Iraq.

Iraqi security forces have also continued to grow and to shoulder more of the load albeit slowly and amid continuing concerns about the sectarian tendencies of some elements in their ranks.

“Innumerable challenges lie ahead, however, coalition and Iraqi security forces have made progress toward achieving sustainable security.

The BBC noted the Democrat attacks: "Sen Obama - one of the Democratic nomination frontrunners - called the war a "disastrous foreign policy mistake" and said the impact of the surge had been modest given the resources."

According the CNS, "Passage of Year Makes Petraeus Look Good, Congressional Critics Look Bad":

“I opposed this war from the beginning,” Obama told the crowd in Clinton on Sept. 12, 2007. “I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed the war in 2003. I opposed it in 2004, and 2005 and 2006. I introduced the plan in January to remove all of our combat brigades out of Iraq by next March. And I am here to say that we have to begin to end this war now – not tomorrow, not the next day, not six months from now, but now.

“The administration points to selective statistics to make the case for staying the course. Killings and mortar attacks and car bombs in certain districts are down from the highest level that we've seen. But they're still at the same horrible levels that they were 18 months ago or two years ago. Let me repeat that,” Obama said.

“Yesterday, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee pointing to this reduction in violence,” Obama added.

“We are at the same levels of violence now that we were back in June of 2006. That is the improvement that's been made after an additional 30,000 troops and billion dollars have been spent in Iraq,” he said.

Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, supposedly picked as vice-president for the 'foreign policy experience' he added to the Democrat ticket exhibited that experience one year ago.

“It's time to turn the corner in my view, gentlemen. We should stop the surge and start bringing our troops home. We should end a political strategy in Iraq that cannot succeed and begin one that can.”
--Joe Biden, September 11 2007

What did John McCain say in September 2007? According to the BBC:

"Republican Senator John McCain, a contender for his party's presidential nomination, defended the US strategy in Iraq, saying: "Congress must not choose to lose in Iraq and I will do everything in my power to ensure that we do not."

He said failure in Iraq would turn that country into a haven for terrorists and would let Iran come to dominate the Middle East."

Harry Reid, who had declared the war "lost" in April 2007, questioned General Petraeus' honesty before even hearing the General's report.

On Friday, Reid went so far as to question not only the true source of the report but also the four-star general's honesty.

"He has made a number of statements over the years that have not proven to be factual," Reid said.

Harry Reid also led the charge to the rear for the Democrats, beginning in April.

“Now, I believe myself that the secretary of State, the secretary of Defense – and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows – that this war is lost and that the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday.”
--Harry Reid, April 19, 2007 press conference.

Four days later, Reid was even more explicit about his mistrust of Patraeus and his report in a CNN interview with Dana Bash.

“No, I don't believe him, because it's not happening,” said Reid. “All you have to do is look at the facts. The factors are this has been going on for three months. American deaths are at the highest they've been in two years. We have – it's like a balloon. Things have quieted down a little in Baghdad, but just a little bit.

“They've even moved up in the Kurdish area now. Have tremendous explosions up there, killing two dozen people today. The situation in Iraq is not getting better, and it won't until we change course,” he said.

The other senator from Illinois, majority whip Richard Durbin, was even more insistent that he had a clue.

"President Bush is preparing to tell the nation, once again, that his strategy in Iraq is succeeding. We know what the Bush-Petraeus report will say: The surge is working. Be patient. The reality is despite heroic efforts by U.S. troops, the Bush surge is not working."

"By carefully manipulating the statistics, the Bush-Petraeus report will try to persuade us that violence in Iraq is decreasing and thus the surge is working," he said. "Even if the figures were right, the conclusion is wrong."

Illinois had the honor of having a foreign policy three-fer: Rep. Rahm Emanuel joined Obama and Durbin in piling on Petraeus.

"We don't need a report that wins the Nobel Prize for creative statistics or the Pulitzer for fiction."

"Time will tell" is the smart rejoinder when arguing about future events. It is one that the Democrats may have used to their advantage on September 11, 2007. It would have meant a lot less time spinning on September 11, 2008.

However, Congressional Democrats had their talking points already written before they had heard the Petraeus Report.

They chose to attack the man in charge of winning the war in Iraq, General Patraeus, because what he had to say did not support their own views and agendas.

One year later, time has told its tale.

To the exoneration of General Petraeus--and the chagrin of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

The two Democrats now trying to convince the country, on September 11, 2008, that they have the foreign policy judgment to lead the USA forward through a dangerous world.

by Mondoreb
chart: cybercast news service