Obama lays out his plan for Iraq

In a long-awaited foreign policy speech yesterday, Barack Obama promised to end the US occupation of Iraq. "The central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was", said Obama from the International Trade Centre in Washington. "This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century."

The Democratic presidential candidate used the speech to criticise President Bush’s troop surge in Iraq, claiming it has drained the US military of its resources and deprived the war effort in Afghanistan of much needed American soldiers. "[In Afghanistan] June was our highest casualty month of the war. The Taliban has been on the offensive, even launching a brazen attack on one of our bases. Al-Qaeda has a growing sanctuary in Pakistan." He went on to explicitly blame the Bush administration for failing to "hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, the Taliban".

Almost 2000 miles away John McCain was giving his own war speech in Albuquerque, New Mexico. An ardent supporter of the Iraq troop surge, McCain used his speech backing for US troops staying in Iraq until the bitter end: "Senator Obama will tell you we can’t win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan."

John Marshall, writing on Talking Points Memo about the two opposing strategies, says: "McCain's goal is to station American troops in Iraq permanently. His policy is not one of refusing to set arbitrary timelines or keeping in touch with commanders on the ground or members of the Iraqi government… The choice is still stark - leave Iraq or stay in Iraq."

The Atlantic’s political blogger Andrew Sullivan disagrees and says that neither candidate should be making rash decisions about what the military should be doing so far in the future. "Judging now what we should be doing next February is foolish," says Sullivan. "Our choice will be rooted in a core judgment of whether Obama's instincts will be better than McCain's - in blending the diplomacy, military tactics and strategic vision to win the war on terror."

Chris Weigant on the Huffington Post makes a similar point but adds also that Obama must draw attention to the fact that "John McCain keeps calling a timetable for withdrawal a 'surrender'. This is false, and is nothing more than fear-mongering. The Iraqis agree."

In the UK press, the Guardian’s Simon Jenkins agrees with Obama that prolonging the Iraq War is of no benefit to anyone. "Only die-hard neocons (now including Obama's opponent, John McCain) still believe a US army should remain on Iraqi soil indefinitely," says Jenkins. "In this desperate country, still among the most dangerous on earth, disengagement's hour has come. Obama is its harbinger."

FIRST POSTED JULY 16, 2008