Obama hails Iraq troop “surge” as successful
Washington, 5 September (IranVNC)—Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, said yesterday that the “surge” in 2007, in which nearly 30,000 extra US troops were sent to Iraq, was successful “beyond our wildest dreams”.
By: IranVNC
Published: Friday, September 05, 2008
17:15GMT—1:15PM/EST
OBAMA – MCCAIN – IRAQ
Washington, 5 September (IranVNC)—Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, said yesterday that the “surge” in 2007, in which nearly 30,000 extra US troops were sent to Iraq, was successful “beyond our wildest dreams”.
Obama’s Republican opponent, John McCain, has criticized Obama for opposing the 2007 move, which is now widely credited with a sharp drop in violence in the war-torn country.
Speaking last night in an interview on the US news network, Fox News, Obama said: “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” and added: “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
Republicans responded to Obama’s comments, saying that Obama’s early opposition to the troop increase demonstrates that he does not have the experience or judgment needed to be president.
“There was someone who believed we could win in Iraq and anticipated the success additional men and women in uniform could have – John McCain,” AFP quoted Danny Diaz, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee as saying.
Diaz added: “Obama is on the wrong side of history and left to his own devices, America would have lost a war, retreated from the enemy and ceded Iraq to the terrorists.”
In July, the U.S. froze a troop drawdown aimed at bringing the number of soldiers in Iraq to pre-surge levels. The freeze – referred to by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a “45-day period of consolidation and evaluation” – held the number of soldiers in Iraq at approximately 144,000.
With the 45-day period coming to an end, President George W. Bush is set to announce next week his decision on future troop levels in Iraq, White House spokesperson, Dana Perino said today.
According to the Washington Post newspaper, US Defense Department officials have recommended to Bush that the U.S. maintain current troop levels until late January or early February – once Bush ends his term as president.
At that point, with a new commander-in-chief in office, up to 7,500 troops could be withdrawn, the newspaper writes.
Perino would not comment on Bush’s decision, telling reporters only that he is “considering his options”.
Sources: Fox News website, Agence France-Presse, The Washington Post
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