The Blog @ Spolitics

What Did Obama Say to the Iraqis?

by Heywood U. Reedmore -- September 16, 2008 at 1:27 pm | In 2008 Election | No Comments

The AFP tries to sort out whether or not Obama interfered with the Bush Administration’s foreign policy objectives in Iraq. According to an article by Amir Taheri:

“[Obama] asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” [Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar] Zebari said in an interview, according to Taheri.

The Obama campaign “angrily denied” this account. So what did Obama say?

Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, [Obama's national security spokeswoman, Wendy Morigi] said.

What exactly is the difference between those two accounts? She goes on:

“Barack Obama has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat brigades,” Morigi said.

He wasn’t accused of urging a “delay in negotiations.” He’s accused of urging delay of an agreement. Furthermore, the Bush Administration wasn’t pursuing an immediate drawdown of forces, so her second point is a non-sequitur.

The fact that the Obama campaign is dancing around the issue lends credibility to the claim that he interfered in the negotiations hoping to gain a political advantage. If true, that is an incredibly disturbing revelation. The Obama campaign owes America a more forthright explanation of exactly what he said and why he said it.