Move America Forward
Friday, October 21, 2011

“This is shameless politicking with American foreign policy, “said Danny Gonzalez, Director of Communications for Move America Forward (MAF). “Obama is taking credit for something his predecessor set in motion, and using it to bolster his re-election campaign. Yet during his campaign for President, Obama criticized every aspect of Bush’s Iraq plan. He now pretends that the framework already set down is in actuality his own changed policies - which have brought the war to an end in Iraq.”

Today, in an official statement personally delivered by the President, Obama said, “As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end, for the sake of our national security, and to strengthen American leadership around the world. 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.”

Gonzalez responded to the President’s comments, “Obama opposed the surge in Iraq, which turned the corner for victory against Islamic extremists. When Bush signed the status of forces agreement to withdraw troops at the end of this year, Obama opposed it. When Bush wanted to keep prisoners, Obama opposed it. When Obama became President, he recognized that he was wrong and Bush was right. Obama should be big enough to admit it rather than shamelessly trying to take credit for ending a war that was done due to the Bush policies.

“We give credit where credit is due. When our troops killed Osama Bin Laden, we gave President Obama credit for approving the mission, but now he’s turning around and claiming that he’s delivering on his campaign promises. It’s a lie. He is following the successful Bush game plan, and he should admit it instead of politicizing it and taking credit for himself.

He’s taking credit for the Status of Forces agreement negotiated by the Bush Administration and signed November 17, 2008. That agreement plainly stated that the plan was for all US troops to be out by December 31, 2011, so for Obama to take credit for this is just an absolute lie.”

Gonzalez went on to point out that besides the SOFA set forth by Bush, there was a plan to negotiate having a small US force left behind to curb the threat of Iran against the new Iraqi government, and that it was left for Obama to negotiate with the Iraqis.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/41562