Senator Obama On Iraq

“I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al–Qaeda.”

— October 26, 2002

In January of 2007, Senator Obama introduced the “The Iraq War De–escalation Act of 2007” to the U.S. Senate. This bill would require the phased re–deployment of U.S. troops to begin no later than May 1, 2007, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Other key aspects of Obama’s legislation include:

• Enforces tough benchmarks for progress;
• Requires the President to report to Congress every 90–days;
• Launches a comprehensive regional and international diplomatic initiative;
• Intensifies training of Iraqi security forces to achieve their stability;
• Conditions future economic support to the government of Iraq on significant achievement towards achieving benchmarks.

The Obama plan offers a responsible yet effective alternative to the President’s failed policy of escalation. Realizing there can be no military solution in Iraq, it focuses instead on reaching a political solution in Iraq, protecting our interests in the region, and bringing this war to a responsible end.

“Let’s fight to make sure our so–called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells. Let’s fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil through an energy policy that doesn’t simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.”