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Obama Says Troops Better Used In Afghanistan

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The Washington Post

Published: July 23, 2008

AMMAN, Jordan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday defended his proposal to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq over a 16-month period despite opposition to any timeline from the U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus. More forces are needed to combat a perilous situation in Afghanistan, Obama said.

"I believe that the best way to support Iraqi sovereignty and to encourage the Iraqis to stand up is through the responsible redeployment of our combat brigades," Obama said after completing a four-day visit to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Looking ahead to meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders today, the Illinois senator also pledged that, if elected president, he would provide "sustained energy and focus" to help forge a peace agreement ending their conflict.

But he noted that "it's unrealistic to expect that a U.S. president alone can suddenly snap his fingers about bringing about peace in this region."

Obama, who flew to Israel late Tuesday after a meeting and dinner with Jordan's King Abdullah, will shift focus from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to questions about Iran's nuclear ambitions and their threat to the Israelis and the region.

By affirming his commitment to Israel's security, he will also attempt to overcome doubts at home among many Jewish voters.

Declining to speak in detail about his discussions with Petraeus, the candidate said the U.S. commander wants as much flexibility as possible on troop strength.

Obama said he would neither ignore the advice of military commanders nor accept it outright. "The notion is, is that either I do exactly what my military commanders tell me to do or I'm ignoring their advice," Obama said. "No, I'm factoring in their advice but placing it in this broader strategic framework ... that's required."

Obama, who opposed the troop surge policy that Petraeus has implemented, acknowledged that the shift in strategy initiated in early 2007 has helped reduce violence in Iraq. He also said there has been some, but not enough, progress on political reconciliation.

In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" Monday, Obama said that he still would have opposed the surge even knowing what he now knows. He said the surge was only one of several factors - others being cooperation by Sunni tribal leaders and the decision by the militia of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr "to stand down" - that have improved conditions in Iraq.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain vigorously supported the surge and has criticized Obama for failing to acknowledge its effects on security in Iraq. Obama said he hoped to avoid political warfare with his rival while he is overseas, but the attention his trip is receiving back in the United States and potential implications for the November election make that all but impossible. Within minutes of the conclusion of a press conference, McCain's campaign issued a statement blasting the Democratic candidate.

"By continuing his opposition to the surge strategy long after it has proven successful and by admitting that his plan for withdrawal places him at odds with General David Petraeus, Barack Obama has made clear that his goal remains unconditional withdrawal rather than securing the victory our troops have earned and the surge has made possible," spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

Obama was asked several times about his early opposition to the surge. Rather than assess whether he had taken the wrong position, he asserted that the overall direction of the debate over the future role of the U.S. military in both Iraq and Afghanistan has been moving in his direction.

There is a growing consensus, he said, for sending more troops to battle al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan, something that he has long proposed and that he reiterated in the news conference. When asked whether he had learned anything on the trip that had changed his mind about future policies in those countries, he responded by saying the trip to Afghanistan had given him an even keener appreciation that without cleaning up the porous border with Pakistan, defeating the Taliban will be difficult.

Obama spoke to reporters from the historic Citadel archeological site, which provided a stunning backdrop overlooking the Jordanian capital. The press conference, his first since leaving Washington last Thursday, came a few hours after he and Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., landed in Jordan from Iraq.

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