NYT on Obama at the VFW Convention: Obama Sees a ‘Complete Failure’ in Iraq

NYT: Obama Sees a ‘Complete Failure’ in Iraq
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: August 22, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 21 — Senator Barack Obama said Tuesday that even if the military escalation in Iraq was showing limited signs of progress, efforts to stabilize the country had been a “complete failure” and American troops should not be entangled in the sectarian strife. “No military surge, no matter how brilliantly performed, can succeed without political reconciliation and a surge of diplomacy in Iraq and the region,” Mr. Obama said. “Iraq’s leaders are not reconciling. They are not achieving political benchmarks.”

Mr. Obama, of Illinois, addressed the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars one day after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of his leading rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, addressed the group. In her speech, Mrs. Clinton, of New York, said elements of the Bush administration’s troop buildup in Iraq appeared to be working, particularly in Al Anbar Province. After Mr. Obama made his remarks, he was asked in a brief interview with reporters whether he agreed with that assessment.

“What I had been clear about, I think, even before the surge started was that if we put an additional 20,000 or 30,000 American troops in Baghdad that it’s going to have an impact,” Mr. Obama said. “They are doing an outstanding job in carrying out their military operations. The question has always been, What then?”...

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Mr. Obama bluntly restated his opposition to the war, but praised the dedication of the American military. As he spoke critically of the president’s war strategy, the room fell silent, but the senator drew applause as he pledged to improve services for veterans.

“Whatever disagreements we have on policy, there will be no daylight between us when it comes to honoring the men and women who serve and keeping faith with our veterans,” Mr. Obama said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/us/politics/22vets.html?_r=1&oref=slogin