Obama misrepresents his conversation with Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari
By LisaB on June 18, 2008 at 9:50 PM in ABC News, Barack Obama, Foreign Policy, Iraq
The Obama campaign has stated Senator Obama will visit Iraq and Afghanistan sometime before August. Earlier this week, Obama had a phone conversation with Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari. As we noted here at NQ:
Obama finished the conversation by saying he looked forward to a face to face meeting in Baghdad. Mr Zebari may have been more impressed by McCain, however, who spoke face to face with the foreign minister on Sunday.
But something interesting came up today.
During an interview with Jake Tapper, when asked about the conversation and if Mr Zebari’s had concerns about an Obama plan for withdrawal, Obama had this to say:
“No, he did not express that,” Obama said. “He did emphasize his belief that we’ve made real progress and I think was eager to see political accommodations between the factions follow up in the wake of this progress.
“I think that he expressed what President Maliki has expressed as well,” Obama continued, “which is that the Iraqis are obviously concerned about their sovereignty and are not seeking a long term occupation by the U.S. And so my sense is that we should be able to execute a withdrawal and set a timeframe – a timetable that continues to allow US forces to support Iraqi forces in going after terrorists, that continues to train the Iraqi police and military as long as we’re not training militias that are turning on each other.”
But today’s WaPo. tells a slightly different story.
Mr. Zebari, who has served as foreign minister in every Iraqi government since 2003, finds Mr. Obama’s proposal worrying. In a meeting with Post editors and reporters Tuesday, he said that after all the pain and sacrifices of the past five years, “we are just turning the corner in Iraq.”
————————–Mr. Zebari said he told Mr. Obama that “Iraq is not an island.” In other words, an American withdrawal that destabilized the country would also roil the region around it and embolden U.S. adversaries such as al-Qaeda and Iran. “We have a deadly enemy,” Mr. Zebari said. “When he sees that you commit yourself to a certain timetable, he will use this to increase pressure and attacks, to make it look as though he is forcing you out.
However, apparently Mr. Zebari chose to feel somewhat reassured by Obama’s response.
He said he was reassured by the candidate’s response, which caused him to think that Mr. Obama might not differ all that much from Mr. McCain.
So, what IS Obama’s position? He told or allowed Mr. Zebari to think the U.S. would not withdraw “precipitously” and gave Mr. Zebari the impression his position on Iraq is not dissimilar to John McCain’s. Yet here in the U.S., Obama stresses he has a verrrrry different position on Iraq and will bring the troops home sooner.
So, who got the straight talk? Mr. Obama has been touting his policy on Iraq as a marque or defining position for his candidacy. He should come clear about exactly what he is telling the Iraqi government.
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