Obomba
Completely opposite of McCain and Clinton, Obama opposed the use of military force in Iraq from the start (The Candidates on Iraq, 2008; Iraq, n.d.; Elections, barack-obama, n.d.). At the time, he commented that he was okay with some wars; just not “a dumb war.” He prophesied that even a victorious war would last an unknown amount of time, cost an unknown amount of money, and have many unknown penalties (Presidential, Barack Obama, n.d.). He voted in favor of the war spending bill and supports phased redeployment of U.S. troops. He was also against Bush’s plan of sending additional troops to Iraq, and at one point called for troops to be withdrawn starting at the end of 2006 (Iraq, n.d.). In September 2007, he released a plan that would completely redeploy all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2009 (The Candidates on Iraq, 2008).
Obama is in favor of a timeline for the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq (Elections, barack-obama, n.d.). He wants the U.S. to consider other countries in the Middle East and spend less time and money on Iraq. Obama has many plans for the war and says as President, he would establish an “international working group” that could resolve the Iraqi refugee crisis. He would like to see more funds go towards updating the military’s equipment such as night-vision goggles and reinforced Humvees. As President, Obama would like to immediately initiate the plan he released in September 2007, which called for redeployment of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2009. Obama warns against waging “war without end in Iraq while ignoring mounting costs to our troops and their families, our security and our economy” (The Candidates on Iraq, 2008). He does not seem to have much faith in President Bush. Obama commented, “He is bound to the same failed course that we have seen for the last several years” (Presidential, Barack Obama, n.d.).
When the 2008 election is held, our country needs to elect a strong leader who is willing to steer our country in the direction that will benefit our country now and in the future. All three candidates’ views should be seriously considered by the voters before going to the polls to cast their vote. If putting an end to the war is a voter’s most important criteria, then Obama would probably be the candidate of choice, since he has been an outspoken opponent of the war from the beginning.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Mer, I am sorry but i am going to have to disagree with everything about this fellow. First of all how can Obama be voting for the redeployment of troops but at the same time calling for their withdrawal. This simply does not make sense. Second of all, these improvements on the military’s technology are going to cast money… lots of it. This money is not going to just grow on trees. The U.S. is already in the hole when it comes to spending. This means that there are going to be more taxes to hurt an already pained U.S. economy. Also, most of these US arms suppliers are outside the united states, meaning that they are most likely from China, who has been less than neigborly the past few years. Buying more military supplies frorm them is not the solution. To my way of seeing it, Barack is not the strong leader our country needs right now. Lastly there are several skeletons in the closet of Obama’s personal life and his views on moral issues most of us here in the south do not quite agree on. If he has any chance winning in november, he better get that cleaned up. Fast. I do not believe that Barack Obama is the strong leader America needs right now. He has sat on the fence for to long and no one knows exactly where he stands. Unfortunetly, I do not believe any of the canidates in ‘08 are what America needs right now but we ahve to work with we got.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hey, i agree with….. John David. Form the information given, Obama sounds like he contradicts himself on many issues of sodiers deployment and the way american’s money should be spent. Maybe people should really listen when Obama makes a speech and hear that his opinions change from sentence to sentence.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Well, Mer, I guess I am sort of for Obama and sort of not. I do think that we should not have gone into Iraq in the first place, so I am with him on that point. We could have waited to know for sure, but we jumped the gun. I also think, though, that we cannot just leave. After we have caused so many problems for their country and economy, we cannot just walk out and say it is not our problem. We started the problem. We should have the decency to finish what we started. Though Obama may not have much faith in Bush, I think he should spend more time thinking of ways to fix problems, instead of criticizing President Bush’s actions. That is where I disagree with Obama. It would be amazing if we could leave Iraq by the end of 2009, but I think Obama needs to think a little more on the reasonable side. Nice paper Mer.
-em
May 19th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Mer…I agree that there are many problems with Iraq, and I agree that Bush may have made mistakes, but at the same time i think that instead of criticizing(spelling?) him Obama should try to work with him…I’m not educated enough on the subject of Iraq to discuss it very much but I do think that we should finish what we started while also ensuring the safety of our troops, which I believe is Obama’s goal, so I agree on that issue…
May 20th, 2008 at 10:44 am
mer…..I disagree with all that you have said about obama because 1) he went to a muslim school when he was younger along with many of the alkita terrorist 2) he has pledged an oth to africa and will not say the pledge to the flag i mean if he were elected then it would be like letting the enemy into the highest potion in our goverment.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am
JD & pondersoftheworld…
Phased redeployment of U.S. troops means that the troops will gradually be brought back to the United States. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to say he supports phased redeployment and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Riley…
When President Bush leaves the white house and the new president comes in, whomever that may be, President Bush is done with Iraq. The new president will be stuck with whatever Bush leaves him. They will not work together because when Bush leaves the white house he is no longer president. Bush may have some influence, but it is no longer his job.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:01 am
Jenny…
1st off…Where did Obama go to a Muslim school, Hawaii, Indonesia, or New York…those are all the places he grew up in as a child. (barackobama.com) As for your comment about him not saying the pledge of allegiance, that is not true. You can read more about this on this website:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/11/obama_nabbed_by_the_patriotic.html
On the subject of him pledging an oath to Africa, if you have any reliable evidence to support this, then let me know.