As Jeremy Scahill writes, Obama doesn't even plan to end the occupation of Iraq. "The New York Times is reporting about an 'apparent evolution' in president-elect Barack Obama's thinking on Iraq, citing his recent statements about his plan to keep a residual force in the country and his pledge to 'listen to the recommendations of my commanders' as Obama prepares to assume actual command of US forces.
"The reality is there is no 'evolution.' Anyone who took the time to cut past Barack Obama's campaign rhetoric of 'change' and bringing an 'end' to the Iraq war realized early on that the now-president-elect had a plan that boiled down to a down-sizing and rebranding of the occupation. While he emphasized his pledge to withdraw U.S. 'combat forces' from Iraq in 16 months (which may or may not happen), he has always said that he intends to keep 'residual forces' in place for the foreseeable future."
Given the size of US military bases in Iraq, "residual forces" could well be over half the existing force. Obama also indicated this week that he will double the number of troops in Afghanistan. The anti-war movement that backed Obama will not be infinitely tolerant of these excuses, though they will have no place else to turn.
No comments:
Post a Comment