On Tuesday, Barrack Obama was campaigning at the Ronald Reagan Building and International World Centre when he said,
I will give our military a new mission on my first day in office: ending this war. Let me be clear: We must be careful as getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months.
He also added that he’ll move more troops in to Afghanistan instead and fight a winning war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Obama’s speech on ending Iraq war has made everyone raise brows. Will Obama make US take a U-turn on Iraq? Is he talking of withdrawal of US troops alone or all international troops from Iraq? Will he completely re-orient the US foreign and national security priorities? Or is all this a mere rhetoric to gain political mileage?
Outgoing President Bush has cautioned the senator about wisdom of such a move without talking to the military heads and diplomats in Iraq and without assessment of ground reality. Bush has totally rejected this timeline of withdrawal.
Mc Cain, the Republican nominee, on the other hand questioned why Obama was making plans before his scheduled visit to Iraq and Afghanistan, before meeting with military officials, including Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq. Mc Cain also added that he’ll turn around war in Iraq and Afghanistan by pledging three more brigades and winning it.
Obama, on the other hand, sounds totally committed to his timetable of pulling out of Iraq and this move is in tune with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s recent call for removal of forces. Obama is trying to assert the goals he has for his country: Defeat Al-Qaeda, rebuild alliances and wean U.S. off foreign oil. Focus must shift from Iraq, he insists.
Obama is correct in observing that this war has made US lose more than they have gained. Iraq no longer is a security threat. Saddam has been tried and executed. America is reeling under economic, food and fuel crisis. US commitments must change now. Al-Qaeda is spreading and backing insurgents all over the world and spreading terrorism. Obama is just re-focussing on the ‘War against Terror’.
Mc Cain and Bush look at withdrawal of troops from Iraq as defeat. They think this move will send wrong signals to Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda. But can’t the two wars be de-linked?
Obama vs Mc Cain debate goes on; hope they’ll stay committed to what they promise in their speeches, hope it is not mere rhetoric…
source: LosAngelesTimes
