Despite a lot of rhetoric that our troops in Iraq need to come home, especially if the Iraqi people don’t want us there, and about how it’s time for a change in Washington, it seems it’s politics as usual Barack Obama.
When Obama visited Iraq in July he asked Iraqi’s to delay any drawdown of US troops until after election day:
“He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview.
Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops – and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.”
“However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open.” Zebari says.
Though Obama claims the US presence is “illegal,” he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the “weakened Bush administration,” Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.
While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a “realistic withdrawal date.” They declined.
Perhaps this isn’t too surprising since Obama was all but assured to be President come January and had begun to form his transition team.
