Should Obama visit Iraq?

[BoutDone]

If Obama is going to make Iraq a center piece of his campaign, should he not visit Iraq and get a first hand update on the current conditions there as well as the prospects for a US victory?

If he does go, will he tell our troops they should have never been sent there in the first place? Will he tell them their work there is, and has been, a mistake? Will he tell them their efforts have been a waste of time? Will he tell them they should accept defeat instead of victory? Will he tell them he has to cut his visit short so he can visit with Ahmadinejad in Iran?

Should be a very interesting trip.

[samclem]

One of the radio talking heads yesterday mentioned that BHO was willing to meet with Kim, and with I'm-a-dinner-jacket, but was apparently unwilling to meet with Petreaus.

He doesn't need to go to Iraq, he saw a briefing about Iraq, he saw the white paper. No need to actually look at those soldiers and meet the Iraqis. Maybe see a new school or some 40 year olds who voted in the first real election of their lives.

Anyway, I'm sure he's afraid that the whole thing will become a big campaign photo op, and that he'll have some gaffe that will make him look like an idiot (ala Bush looking through the binos with the covers on, or goofy Dukakis in the tank).

[donheff]

Should McCain go to Iraq and tell the troops they were truly sent on a glorious mission to rid the world of WMDs and to capture OBL who was in league with Sadaam Hussein? Will he tell them their efforts have reduced WMDs and stifled the growth of Al Quaeda? Will he assure them that - as promised by the neo-cons - the war will pay for itself and the mid-east will be transformed into Leavitown? Will he tell them he has to cut his visit short to launch a war of liberation against Iran?

[dex]

It isn't in his best interest to go to Iraq and come back and say things are going OK.
You can pretty much write the script for when he comes back.

Talking points.
I was against going into Iraq
It is a quagmire.
We need to get out.
McCain says he will be there for 100 years - I want to get us out now.
When I was there I met a solider - insert sad story here
When I was there I met an Iraqi - insert sad story here


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He should have gone earlier to Iraq but the Hilary primaries didn't allow him.

[Texarkandy]

I pretty much oppossed to all these congressional junkets & fact finding trips. (including McCain's)

But since it seems to have become de-rigueur anymore, well McCain has thrown down the gauntlet - pick it up & fight Obama!

Ya gotta have a little John Wayne in ya if ya wanna be the President of this country, pilgrim!

[Gumby]

You don't need to go to Iraq or meet any soldiers to know that this war was a criminally stupid mistake from the start. I'm certain that the men and women in our armed forces in Iraq are serving honorably and well, but yes, the war was a mistake and they never should have been there. That is not their fault; they only do what the morons in the White House tell them to do.

It is not "accepting defeat" to recognize that we made a mistake and leave. If your self esteem is so tied up in refusing to admit you've made a mistake, you have no business running anything, let alone a country. I have no idea why conservatives are so hung up on this idea of "victory"; which is redefined again and again to suit their needs. Guess what? This is not football game; it is a war, where real people die. Even people who are "victorious" in war suffer horribly.

[A854321]

My intial response is NO.

However, if he is campaigning to be the President of the United States and The President Who Would Lead Us Out of Iraq- I have to say Yes.

After, and I mean after, he gets the Official Nomination by the Democratic Convention in August. And, after he has received a hearty endorsement by Hillary.

Why do I couch it like this? I just don't believe the Clinton candidacy is going to die a quick and final death. I think they will dog him into the convention, and perhaps beyond. These are two hugely ambitious, smart, and influential people. Mr. Bill's presidency has an ugly stain on it, and Hillary risks being a byline in the 2007 year-end report. That's not how they planned it. They will not go down without a fight.

[Danny]

Says he going after he gets the nomination wrapped up but on his own terms not John's. Doesn't "want to participate in a political stunt". Again he sounds so much more level headed and more mature than John.
I'm confident he will continue to surprise and out maneuver John, just like he has the Clinton machine.

[samclem]

Originally Posted by Danny

Again he sounds so much more level headed and more mature than John.
I'm confident he will continue to surprise and out maneuver John, just like he has the Clinton machine.

And he has a dimple, and a strong chin. He's dreamy!

Can I re-post the clip of his memorable oratory?
YouTube - Obama's Modern Times

[DragoMuseveni]

I think McCain and the Republicans set themselves up on this one. Obama will probably go to Iraq or Afghanistan right after the Republican national convention. It will be a very big event because McCain drew so much attention to it, and it will lead the news for days.

[kumquat]

What on earth would he learn, what would he see? The SS and military wouldn't let him get in harm's way so it's a big photo op, like Hillary's shoot-out in Bosnia. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose.

[eddieb]

I think that this will backfire on McCain. I think Obama will go there by himself and the troops will be very receptive to him. Also, because McCain called him out on it, Obama will have a lot of press covering his trip.