2008 first presidential debate, at Ole Miss: on War & Peace

Barack Obama: Unwise war in Iraq distracted us from catching Bin Laden

A: I think the first question is whether we should have gone into the war in the first place. Six years ago, I opposed this war because I said that not only did we not know how much it was going to cost, what our exit strategy might be, how it would affect our relationships around the world, & whether our intelligence was sound, but also because we hadn’t caught bin Laden. We hadn’t put al Qaeda to rest, & as a consequence, I thought that it was going to be a distraction. I wish I had been wrong. We’ve spent over $600 billion so far. We have lost over 4,000 lives. We have seen 30,000 wounded, and al Qaeda is stronger now than at any time since 2001. We are still spending $10 billion a month at a time when we are in great distress here at home. The lesson is we should never hesitate to use military force, & I will not, as president, in order to keep the American people safe. But we have to use our military wisely. We did not use our military wisely in Iraq

Barack Obama: The surge is a tactic to contain 4 years of mismanaged war

OBAMA: The violence has been reduced as a consequence of the extraordinary sacrifice of our troops. But understand, that was a tactic designed to contain the damage of the previous four years of mismanagement of this war. John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007. You talk about the surge. The war started in 2003, and at the time when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong. You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shiite & Sunni. If the question is who is best-equipped to make good decisions about how we use our military, how we make sure that we are prepared & ready for the next conflict, then I think we can take a look at our judgment

Barack Obama: Afghanistan needs more troops and resources

We need more troops. The situation is getting worse. We had the highest fatalities among US troops this past year than at any time since 2002. I would send 2 to 3 additional brigades to Afghanistan. Keep in mind that we have 4 times the number of troops in Iraq, where nobody had anything to do with 9/11 before we went in, where, in fact, there was no al Qaeda before we went in. That is a strategic mistake, because every intelligence agency will acknowledge that al Qaeda is the greatest threat against the US, and that the place where we have to deal with these folks is in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s not just more troops. We have to #1, press the Afghan government to make certain that they are actually working for their people; #2, we’ve got to deal with a poppy trade that has exploded; #3, we’ve got to deal with Pakistan, because al Qaeda and the Taliban have safe havens in Pakistan. Until we do, Americans at home are not safe.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Iraq has at most $59B surplus, not $79B surplus

Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 first Presidential debate Sep 26, 2008

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Promised 16-month exit; now 16-month reduction

But in Oct. 2007, Obama supported removing all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, saying, “I will remove one or two brigades a month, and get all of our combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months. The only troops I will keep in Iraq will perform the limited missions of protecting our diplomats and carrying out targeted strikes on al Qaeda. And I will launch the diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives that are so badly needed. Let there be no doubt: I will end this war.” The quote appears on the campaign’s Web site.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Opposes surge--hasn’t produced political solution

FACT CHECK: Obama said at the time that the increase in roughly 30,000 US troops in Iraq could improve security in “certain neighborhoods” but that it would not solve the long-term political strife between Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups. “I don’t think there’s been any doubt that if we put US troops in that, in the short term, we might see some improvement in certain neighborhoods,“ he said in March 2007. In a September 2007 speech Obama said ”the stated purpose of the surge was to enable Iraq’s leaders to reconcile. Our troops fight and die in the 120-degree heat to give Iraq’s leaders space to agree, but they aren’t filling it.“

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Pakistan has lost 1,200 troops fighting Al Qaeda

FACT CHECK: The Pakistani military has lost 1,200 soldiers since 2004 in the war against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the tribal areas and flown more than 100 F-16 missions against tribal fighters, according to Pakistani military officials.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Kissinger says Iran meet ok; but only lower level

FACT CHECK: Kissinger did call for high-level negot

John McCain: We now have a great strategy & are winning in Iraq

A: I think the lessons of Iraq are that you cannot have a failed strategy that will cause you to lose a conflict. We went in to Baghdad and everybody celebrated. Then the war was badly mishandled. I went to Iraq in 2003 and came back and said, we’ve got to change this strategy. This strategy requires additional troops, it requires a fundamental change and I fought for it. Finally, we came up with a great general and a strategy that has succeeded.

We are winning in Iraq. We will come home with victory and honor. Now we will see a stable ally in the region and a fledgling democracy.

The consequences of defeat would have been increased Iranian influence. It would have been increase in sectarian violence. It would have been a wider war.

There was a lot at stake. And thanks to this great general, David Petraeus, and the troops who serve under him, they have succeeded. We will come home as we have when we have won other wars and not in defeat.

John McCain: The next president has to decide how and when to leave Iraq

OBAMA: The violence has been reduced as a consequence of the extraordinary sacrifice of our troops. But understand, that was a tactic designed to contain the damage of the previous four years of mismanagement of this war. At the time when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You were wrong. You said we knew where the WMDs were. You were wrong.

John McCain: In Afghanistan, employ same winning strategy as in Iraq

McCAIN: I’m afraid Sen. Obama doesn’t understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy. [I attended] a ceremony where 688 Americans were reenlisting to stay and fight for Iraqi and American freedom. Afterwards, you know what they said to us? They said, let us win. We don’t want our kids coming back here. They are winning. Sen. Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winnin in Iraq. There is social & economic progress, and a strategy of going into an area, clearing and holding, and the people of the country then become allied with you. They inform on the bad guys. And peace comes to the country, and prosperity. That’s what’s happening in Iraq, and it is a strategy. And that same strategy will be employed in Afghanistan. Sen. Obama, who after promising not to vote to cut off funds for the troops, did the incredible thing of voting to cut off the funds for the troops.

John McCain: Don’t threaten Pakistan; it’s part of Afghan strategy

A: I won’t repeat the mistake that I regret enormously, and that is, after we were able to help the Afghan freedom fighters and drive the Russians out of Afghanistan, we basically washed our hands of the region. The result was the Taliban, al Qaeda, and a lot of the difficulties we are facing today. We can’t ignore those lessons of history.

I’m not prepared at this time to cut off aid to Pakistan. So I’m not prepared to threaten it, as Sen. Obama wants to do, as he has said that he would announce military strikes into Pakistan. Sen. Obama doesn’t understand, it’s got to be the same strategy that he condemned in Iraq is going to have to be employed in Afghanistan.

We’re going to have to help the Pakistanis go into these areas and obtain the allegiance of the people. It’s going to be tough. They’ve intermarried with al Qaeda & the Taliban. Pakistan is a very important element in this. I would not publicly state that I’m going to attack them.

John McCain: FactCheck: Admiral did not call Obama’s plan dangerous

Admiral Mullen did say in a Fox News interview that having a time line for withdrawal would be dangerous. On July 20, Mullen said, “I think the consequences could be very dangerous in that regard. I’m convinced at this point in time that making reductions based on conditions on the ground are very important.” However, interviewer Chris Wallace had just told Mullen to take Obama out of the equation. So strictly speaking Mullen was not talking specifically about “Obama’s plan.” He did say a rigid timetable could have dangerous consequences.

John McCain: FactCheck: Obama did declare Republican Guard terrorists

Obama has in fact said that the IRGC should be named a terrorist group. He was a cosponsor of the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which, among other things, named the IRGC a terrorist organization What he voted against was the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which also called for the terrorist group distinction. But Obama said that he opposed the amendment on the grounds that it was ”saber-rattling.“

John McCain: FactCheck: Bush vetoed troop bill that Obama voted against

FACT CHECK: Obama did vote against a 2007 spending bill that did not include language calling for withdrawing troops from Iraq, but voted for the version that did. That version was vetoed by Pres. Bush, though McCain does not say Bush cut off funding for the troops. Overall, Obama voted yes on at least 10 other war-funding bills prior to the single no vote.