Obama to FL vets: “I will let no one question my love of this country.”
Sen. Obama spoke to an audience of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Orlando, FL today, and chided John McCain for suggesting that Obama’s foreign policy positions were based on his own political interest, spoke in frank terms about the lack of political reconciliation in Iraq in the wake of the surge, and how Iraq has diverted attention away from the real central front in the war on terror.
The LA Times has more:
On Iraq, the Illinois senator said that while the surge may have worked militarily, it has failed politically.
“We have lost over a thousand American lives and spent billions of dollars since the surge began, but Iraq’s leaders still haven’t made hard compromises or substantial investments in rebuilding their country,” he said. “And while we pay a heavy price in Iraq — and Americans pay record prices at the pump — Iraq’s government is sitting on a $79-billion budget surplus from windfall oil profits.”
On Afghanistan, Obama said that the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan is now “the central front in the war on terrorism,” where the Taliban is resurgent and “Osama bin Laden and the same terrorists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans on our own soil are hiding and plotting seven years after 9/11.”
Declaring that “this is a war that we have to win,” Obama pledged that “as commander in chief, I will have no greater priority than taking out these terrorists who threaten America, and finishing the job.” He also called for what he termed an Afghanistan strategy of “more for more,” more from NATO allies, more from the Afghan government, more from the U.S. military.
On Pakistan, Obama said that for years he has argued the need to move from “a Musharraf policy” to “a Pakistan policy.” Now that President Pervez Musharraf has resigned, he said, “we will have the opportunity to do just that.” He advocated tripling non-military aid while making sure that military aid is targeted on fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Click here to read the full article.
