Obama: The Shift Is On

Senator Obama may be “open to redefining” his Iraq withdrawal plan, or maybe not. In two different appearances before the media on July 3, he left the reporters, and much of America, scratching their heads.

Guardian: Obama The Flip-Flopper

Obama first indicated that additional information may require him to reconsider his long-standing commitment to a 16-month troop withdrawal. Obama justified this “shift” by stating that he may have to reconsider Iraq after meeting with the Generals. Gee Mr. Obama, don’t you think you should have waited to commit to a planned retreat until after you sat down with the military leaders in Iraq in the first place?

Obama came out later in the day to state his earlier comments had been “misunderstood,” and that “make no mistake about it” he was still committed to the 2 brigades a month withdrawal, with a 16-month retreat. Obama blamed the “confusion” on the McCain camp (?)……..Pathetic.

But Obama also told reporters that when he talked earlier about refining his policy, he was not referring to the 16-month timeline, but to how many troops may need to remain in Iraq to train the local army and police and what troop presence might be needed to ensure "al-Qaida doesn't re-establish a foothold there." This is the first time America has heard this part of Obama’s plan, but exactly what McCain warned about months ago. Obama’s past troop retreat comments made no reference to leaving troops behind to assist the Iraqis, but it begs to be ask, how long would the troops need to remain.....100 years? Obama and his liberal clan made it point to criticized McCain for recommending maintaining a US troops presence in Iraq, as we did in Japan, Germany, Kosovo, and Kuwait, something Obama now supports. To leave troops in harms way is not a withdrawal, and to leave a token force behind as Obama has suggested, would be a disaster.

But how did the media report on these conflicting press conferences? By stating that the “Republicans quickly pounce on Obama’s comments.” But so did the media. There were so many conflicting stories on the Internet related to Obama’s statements, no one, including Obama, can give a clear answer on exactly what happened between the two press conferences?

The only thing that surprised me regarding this was that it happened this soon. As I wrote on July 2 (Obama Advisers Seem Confused), Obama had to change his position on Iraq, because his plan would have doomed us to a failed retreat, and inevitably would require us to return to the region from a position of weakness. This recent Obama gaff proves once again he lacks the experience and military understanding to serve as Commander-in-Chief.