WhatFinger


Taking Credit for Iraq, then Blaming George Bush

President Obama rewrites history before another vacation



On July 13, 2007, President George W. Bush correctly predicted the results of a complete pull-out from Iraq when he said:
"To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we're ready would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region and for the United States. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to Al Qaida.
"It'd mean that we'd be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. It'd mean we'd allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It'd mean we'd be increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous. The fight in Iraq is part of a broader struggle that's unfolding across the region."
So, on Saturday, August 9, 2014, President Obama had to hold a press conference right before leaving for his vacation in Martha's Vineyard in order to explain how he is dealing with the disastrous consequences of the complete US withdrawal from Iraq. The final question that he answered was: "Do you have any second thoughts about pulling all the ground troops out of Iraq and does it give you pause as the US is doing the same thing in Afghanistan?" Mr. Obama then began explaining that "under the previous administration we had turned over the country to a sovereign, democratically elected Iraqi government." But as late as October 21, 2011, Obama was still claiming the credit for the agreement that established the removal of all US forces from Iraq: "After taking office, I announced a new strategy that would end our combat mission in Iraq and remove all of our troops by the end of 2011."

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The agreement on removal of forces, signed November 17, 2007, during the GW Bush administration said: "All the United States Forces shall withdraw from all Iraqi territory no later than December 31, 2011." Sad to say that this agreement was passed with President Bush having the above understanding of what would happen if such an agreement was made with the government of Iraq. Ending his little history lesson at his press conference, Obama then said: "So that entire analysis is bogus and is wrong. But it gets frequently peddled around here by folks who are oftentimes trying to defend previous policies that they themselves made." But President Obama himself was one of those "peddling" the idea, at least until it became clear that Bush's predictions of chaos in Iraq were coming true. So while he now correctly gives credit to President Bush for the agreement that led to the withdrawal of all our forces from Iraq, we see in his October 21, 2011 speech that he also took credit in advance for a peaceful, prosperous Iraq after the withdrawal, something that we are now clearly seeing did not happen: "With our diplomats and civilian advisors in the lead, we'll help Iraqis strengthen institutions that are just, representative and accountable. We'll build new ties of trade and of commerce, culture and education that unleash the potential of the Iraqi people. We'll partner with an Iraq that contributes to regional security and peace, just as we insist that other nations respect Iraq's sovereignty." Also during his press conference Saturday, incredibly so, the Commander-in-Chief, gave a huge put-down of the military he is commanding and denied the above-described positive effects the presence of a U.S.-led international military force actually had in Iraq when he said, "if...we had had troops there, the country wouldn't be holding together either." President Obama then went on to describe another failure of his administration as he lied about "the excellent work of John Kerry" in Afghanistan.


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Rolf Yungclas -- Bio and Archives

Rolf Yungclas is a recently retired newspaper editor from southwest Kansas who has been speaking out on the issues of the day in newspapers and online for over 15 years


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