John McCain Backs Obama Iraq Pullout Plan

[Orwellian_Ghost]

McCain backs Obama Iraq pullout plan
Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:29pm GMT
By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain, who battled Barack Obama hard on the campaign trail on the Iraq war, said Friday he supports President Obama's plans to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq over 19 months.

"Overall it is a reasonable plan and one that can work and I support it," McCain told Reuters.

McCain, as a presidential candidate in the 2008 election, had argued that Obama was naive on national security and criticized his pledge to pull U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months.

Asked about those remarks and his position today, McCain said: "Let me just remind you again, this is dramatically different, this is significantly different, this plan compared to his campaign pledge."



McCain was encouraged that Obama's plan will leave up to 50,000 troops remaining in Iraq after the 19-month pullout of other forces is complete. Those forces will train and equip Iraqi forces and conduct limited counterterrorism operations.

<snip>

http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE51Q3VH20090227

[maryf]

1. My, wish I could say I'm surprised...

sadly no. (perfect image!)

[Two Americas]

2. interesting

There are two things, apparently, that can not be challenged and will be more or less the same whether there are Democrats or Republicans in power - the domination of our lives, the economy, and the government by finance and banking interests - the super wealthy - and an aggressive imperialistic and war-like foreign policy, engaged in bludgeoning and threatening the people of the world into compliance with the US corporate agenda - making the world safe for "free market" Reaganomics.

Quite an unholy alliance - finance, the military, and the politicians. So long as that alliance remains in place, any liberal gains by the new administration will be mere window dressing.

We can't very well blame the politicians. After all, they owe their careers to the people they are serving, the wealthy and powerful few, and there is no counter-balancing power that represents the people pressuring them. Many of the politicians may actually believe that they can do some good within the context of being bought and paid for by the few. Were there a powerful left wing power base pressuring them, they would move in that direction. But that is blocked and sabotaged from inside, by the conservatives among us. It is not the right wingers that prevent a leftist point of view from being heard, it is Democrats.

We can't blame the Republicans. They are doing what they have always done - relentlessly and effectively promoting the needs and desires of the wealthy and powerful few. We may as well blame the rain when our roof leaks.

We can't very well blame the people. They threw the Republicans out and have thoroughly rejected Reaganomics. They do not hear any alternative narrative, and still have moved far to the Left from the party activists.

Who is damned by this is the many in the activist community who refuse to admit the truth and who insist on blocking any efforts at bringing pressure to bear on the politicians, who dominate and control all political narrative and discussion other than that on the far right, and who misrepresented the politicians all through the campaign as being significantly different than the Republicans.


...

[No.23]

3. To arms.

Nicely said. Thank you.

[leftstreet]

4. And the same media that helped tossed the Repubs are now reviving them

The Republican party is dead. Fractured. Toast. Thus spake the voters.

But the M$M and punditoddity are frantically breathing life back into it.

It's sooooo obvious.

[No.23]

5. Just a suggestion.

For those of you who voted for Obama, that is.

Instead of worrying if the Republican party is being resuscitated...

how about worrying if the Party that you voted for...

will do the things that they said they would?

Doesn't that deserve your use of your worry beads more?

[leftstreet]

6. Why wouldn't they?

All the 'centrist'/DLC positions Obama campaigned on will come to fruition.

That's why the Repubs have to appear as opposition. So the positions don't appear too right-y.

I got yer worry beads right here!

[No.23]

7. Ain't this the truth.

"still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2954347635279435126&ei=NN2oSeiLKIP--gGhj-2uDA&q=simon+and+garfunkel&hl=en

[Two Americas]

10. or...

We could stop worrying about what either party is doing, and instead think about what we are going to do.

[Two Americas]

8. they need both

It is the partisan battle between the two parties that distracts the people and serves the needs of the upper class. Just as a bookie changes the odds to get equal money on both sides of the bet, the media boosts whomever is down and attacks whomever is up. The people are manipulated so that 50% take one side on every issue, and 50% take the other side - or at least the appearance pf that must be created.

[No.23]

12. Yep. Yep. Yep.

And let's get the American people to fight racism too.

Racism is evil.

So that they don't notice that classism is at the core of it all.

[Two Americas]

14. it isn't either-or

Racism exists and is one component of "classism." Just because the ruling class uses racism to divide and conquer, that does not mean that racism does not exist, or is not important, nor does it invalidate the fight against racism.

Classism is not the core anyway, it is the effect not the cause. The struggle for power and resources is the core.

[No.23]

15. That was the point that I tried to make.

Racism IS a component of classism. And certainly one of its tools.

But we aren't encouraged to see that relationship.

Certainly not in our schools.

And certainly not in our media.

THAT is what I tried to say.

Thanks for saying it more effectively.

[maryf]

20. People are assissinated for fighting for the poor

much more often than for fighting against racism...Malcolm X and MLK are two such...better expressed here by OG http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5139208&mesg_id=5139208

[Two Americas]

21. racism

First came slavery - exploitation of people - then came racism - justification for that. This does not mean that "it is about class, not race." It is about both.

Fighting racism leads to, is an important component of fighting back against the class warfare the upper class us waging on all of us, it does not prevent or interfere with it.

Race can be a distraction for whites away from class awareness, but not for people of color.

[maryf]

23. I agree completely, nt

[global1]

9. Actually I Think It Is A Stroke of Genius On The Part Of President Obama......

that McCain and many Repugs came out and said they supported his 'pullout plan'. Now - heaven forbid - if anything happens that causes it to go bad - at least the Repugs can't come back and jump all over his plan cause they supported it.

Another thought - How much training and equipping of the Iraqi forces do we have to do? I can remember back when the training issue was the topic of the day. I remember Joe Biden criticizing Bush - something to the effect of how long we've been training the Iraqi's and they still weren't ready. Shouldn't the Iraqi forces be trained by now?

[Two Americas]

11. sure

If the ultimate goal is partisan gain by the Democratic party.

We don't do and support things in order to help the Dems win though, we elect Dems in the hope that this will be part of doing the things we support.

Many here seem confused about that and to have it exactly backward. They are rooting for the team, as though it were a sports contest, but they are not so quick to stand for or defend the principles and ideals that were the only reason to support Democrats in the first place.

[No.23]

13. Wouldn't it be better...

to not get any blood on your hands in the first place...

than to be quick to point out that there's blood on both on hands?

[Orwellian_Ghost]

16. How so?

The invasion of Iraq is an international crime and an act of wholesale slaughter. The US has no right to do anything but has an obligation to pay reparations. This waffling about withdrawal with residual forces remaining perpetuates this international crime. How is that a stroke of genius?

As for blaming the Iraqi forces for not being ready that's really over the top. Your assumption is that the occupying forces have legitimacy to train the occupied to do the bidding of the colonial master.

[TBF]

17. The owners have solidarity down solid, and always have had. That's why they're so

effective. If everyone else can identify which side they're really on and apply the same principles we'll make some progress. K&R.

[TBF]

18. He's just not that into you -

Amid Obama's change, there's also more of the same

By NANCY BENAC Associated Press
Feb. 28, 2009, 9:50AM

WASHINGTON — For all the sweeping changes that President Barack Obama has delivered, there also has been an ample helping of more-of-the-same.

The Bush policy of imprisoning enemy combatants in Afghanistan without trial? The Obama White House is OK with that.

The Bush tax cuts for the rich that candidate Obama promised to wipe out early? President Obama will let them run their course.

The Bush team's claim of a "state secrets" privilege to avoid releasing information? The Obama White House has agreed thrice over, even as it reviews the policy.

Across the landscape of government, there are plenty of other instances in which Obama is staying his Republican predecessor's course — at least for now.

<snip>

Some Obama critics are chortling.

"Here's something President Obama's biggest fans may need to hear: He's just not that into you," conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg wrote last week. He pointed to the enemy combatant and state secrets cases, Obama's decision to retain George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, and continued support for faith-based programs.

(Much more at the link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6285948.html)

[maryf]

19. "Some Obama critics are chortling."

Giving his supporters more cause to come to his defense and not see the truth that is being said...what a fun game they are playing, heh???:sarcasm:

[MarjorieG]

22. Obama's plan always had flexibility, and he's quick to say as campaigned.

Whatever McCain now says. Obama was never going to leave tomorrow, endangering troops, and not recognizing the logistics nightmare, as well.

[Two Americas]

24. false choice

You don't support Obama by supporting the war. It is not a logistics nightmare, it is a political nightmare and will continue to be and no good can come from it. No anti-war people are advocating "endangering troops" or "leaving tomorrow." War is what endangers troops, not ending war. The "leaving tomorrow" argument is nonsense. The same argument was used during the Viet Nam war to let things drift, to continue to deny reality and hope for a good outcome, until "leave tomorrow" actually did became necessary, and then it was logistics be damned.

This is a political problem for Obama, and to solve that problem requires increased demand from the public to get out so that he has political cover. You argue against creating increased public demand, in a misguided effort at being loyal and supporting the administration. But what you are actually doing is painting the President into a corner and hurting the potential future success of the administration.