Obama: My Iraq judgments match reality
Posted July 22, 2008 1:28 PM

Obama speaks as Sen. Chuck Hagel and Sen. Jack Reed listen during a news conference at the citadel July 22 in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)
The Swamp
by Mike Dorning
snip//
At the news conference, held at the site of an ancient ruin that provided a striking panoramic view of the Jordanian capital, many of questions focused on his policy judgments on the Iraq War.
Obama stressed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and even the Bush administration have in recent days moved closer to his signature policy on Iraq calling for a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. combat troops within 16 months after Obama would take office. Maliki said on Monday he favored a goal of removing U.S. combat troops by 2010, within a few months of the date Obama has proposed.
"When you look at an increasing recognition that we can't stay in Iraq in perpetuity and that a time frame, timetable, timeline, whatever you want to refer to, is appropriate, I think that the judgments that I've made over the course of the last two years are ones that match up with the reality on the ground," Obama said.
But he demurred when asked if Republican rival John McCain should be credited with good judgment for supporting the Bush administration's troop "surge" last year that was followed by a dramatic drop in sectarian strife in Iraq.
"I will leave it to the voters to make that decision. And my hope is to avoid a colloquy with the McCain campaign over the next four or five days, partly because I think when we're overseas, we're trying to ... focus on some areas of agreement."
more...
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/07/obama_my_iraq_judgments_match.html