Posted By: Nick
Barack Obama is starting to take some real heat over his position on the Iraq War. The biggest reason for this is that the surge (which he opposed) seems to have made some real gains in Iraq. The Washington Post hit him for this today in an editorial. Jack Tapper at ABC News says the success of the surge has put Obama on the defensive.
John McCain went after him yesterday as well. He makes the point that:
Where Senator Obama and I disagreed, fundamentally, was what course we should take. I called for a comprehensive new strategy — a surge of troops and counterinsurgency to win the war. Senator Obama disagreed. He opposed the surge, predicted it would increase sectarian violence, and called for our troops to retreat as quickly as possible. Today we know Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has succeeded.
I have made my own position clear. I think the war in Iraq has been a major distraction from our efforts in Afghanistan. It has strained our military, driven us further into deficit, and has hurt our credibility around the world. Osama bin Laden is still at large, almost seven years after the 9/11 attacks.
However, I think Obama is walking on very thin ice right now. And I’m not sure how he can improve his situation. The reality is that violence in Iraq is down significantly since the beginning of the surge. Arguments can be made about the reasons for the decrease in violence (it should be pointed out that a major factor may not be increased American presence, but rather increased American cooperation [bribery] with Sunni tribes, among other factors). But with the simplistic way the average voter sees the war, Obama may be in some trouble here. With the media beginning to turn against Obama on the war, McCain has a real opportunity to pick up some extra votes.
