Comments on: Lest Anyone Think I’m Dodging The Story…

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:25:10 +0000

I completely agree — you can’t move 140,000 soldiers and their equipment on a dime. Nor should we. However, there is a world of difference between setting a timetable to leave and the Bush/McCain position of trying to establish permanent bases there.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:27:08 +0000

Peter, the absolute EARLIEST anyone, including Maliki and Obama has mentioned, is 2010. You’re not being realistic…

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:05:06 +0000

Actually I think it is Jacques, and not Fargus, who suggested that Maliki is reacting to the views and desires of the voters. Just keeping score here.

Assuming that this view is correct — and there is a plurality of Iraqis who want us out of there — tthen why are we still there?

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:42:03 +0000

Obama didn’t flip on campaign finance? Man, you guys are easy to please!…Well, vote for him, then, but don’t begrudge my “I told you so”…

By: too many steves

too many steves — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:58:51 +0000

Hold on! Aren’t you the guy that admitted to some serious concerns with Obama over his “move to the center” following the primary season? Before you start yelling, please note I am NOT defending the owner of the self-described Straight Talk Express; no, I would just say that Obama certainly has shown some of Reagan’s and Clinton’s (W. not H.) abilities to change positions without serious political consequences.

Interesting to note that if Mr. Fargus is correct, the leader of Iraq, who is up for election, is reacting to the views and desires of the voters. How democratic!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:55:43 +0000

Fargus: I assume in the sense that he’s a politician and they tend to make a point of framing their positions to appeal to varying audiences. The only bona fide flip-flop I’ll really grant on Obama is the FISA one – he tucked his tail firmly between his legs and ran away on that one.

And your point about McCain is well taken. I find it somewhat underwhelming the way “vote for Obama” is so often justified with “he’s not McCain” and I am not generally impressed with charges of hypocrisy. That said, the claim that Obama is the guy who tells people what they want to hear – and the related media-created halo surrounding Mr. Straight Talk – is so prima facie ludicrous that it really does bear mentioning that the contest here is between Obama and *John McCain*. And that’s not exactly a contest.

By: Fargus

Fargus — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:57:06 +0000

In what sense, Mark, does Obama just tell people what they want to hear? In a related question, if this is a criticism you have of Obama, how can you possibly entertain the notion of voting for McCain?

By: too many steves

too many steves — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:57:47 +0000

Setting all the political considerations aside for a moment, I don’t see much contradiction or a change in perspective. We and Iraq have agreed, via some joint statement, to a time horizon. Given recent successes in quelling violence there is:

a. increased confidence that Iraq is stabilizing.
b. increased confidence that the Iraqi’s can maintain that control.

So Maliki says sixteen months, from next Jan 20th I suppose, is a reasonable amount of time, give or take a few months. That sounds like a time horizon to me, and is still inspecific. Meanwhile, we are drawing down troop levels in Iraq.

I think this is more about the politics than the facts of the situation in Iraq.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:21:42 +0000

Good point on the elections…but I still don’t like it. Forgetting for the moment whether Obama or McCain has the better approach, if I may refer to the movie I saw this weekend, Maliki seems to be auditioning for the role of TwoFace in the next Batman. I disagree with this position, if this is really his, but I would respect it, if I thought it WAS really his position, and not just the flavor of the day. But your number three is really pretty close to my number one, isn’t it?…

By: Jacques Distler

Jacques Distler — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:07:27 +0000

It suggests that either Maliki …

There is, of course, a third possibility.

There are Iraqi elections coming up.
The American troop presence is massively unpopular among the Iraqi people (most notably, among the Shia).
Like any politician anywhere, faced with such a situation, he is inching away from a massively unpopular policy, towards one that better reflects the will of the Iraqi people.