Obama builds resume and plans his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan!! Just in time for the November election.
Obama has been pulling out troops out of Iraq since his election to the USA Senate. The time table continues to change to suit the moment----now his carrot for election is "to be completed within 16 months", to entice voters to vote for him.</l>
news.yahoo.com
"Obama, who will pick up the endorsement of former Vice President Al Gore at a campaign event on Monday night, spoke by telephone with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari and reiterated his support for a pullout of U.S. troops.
"I told him that I looked forward to seeing him in Baghdad," Obama told reporters in Flint, Michigan, a key state in November's election race against Republican John McCain.
"I emphasized to him how encouraged I was by the reductions in violence in Iraq but also insisted that it is important for us to begin the process of withdrawing U.S. troops, making it clear that we have no interest in permanent bases in Iraq," he said.
Obama aides declined to give details of the visit or when it might take place. McCain, a staunch advocate of the war and frequent visitor to Iraq, has repeatedly criticized Obama for his failure to visit the country since 2006.
Obama spoke to Zebari one day after the Iraqi official met McCain in Washington. The Arizona senator has made foreign policy and national security a campaign focus and criticizes Obama as too inexperienced to run the country.
McCain, who strongly backed the buildup of U.S. troops ordered by U.S. President George W. Bush in Iraq, on Monday questioned Obama's judgment on Iraq.
"He was wrong when he said the surge would not succeed, he was wrong when he said that we were failing in Iraq as a result of it and he is wrong today," McCain told reporters at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
McCain said he hoped Obama would meet while in Iraq with the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.
"I ask him to request a meeting with General Petraeus and sit down and get his assessment of the military situation," McCain said. "I don't know how you can draw conclusions such as Senator Obama has without even sitting down and talking directly to our commander on the ground."
Obama says he would begin a pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq shortly after taking office. His plan calls for the removal of one or two brigades a month, which would allow a pullout of combat troops to be completed within 16 months.
'WON'T ACT PRECIPITOUSLY'
The first-term Illinois senator said he told Zebari that if he wins the White House, "an Obama administration will make sure that we continue with the progress that's been made in Iraq, that we won't act precipitously."
But he said it was important to begin a withdrawal of troops to send a signal that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is not permanent.
"I've also consistently said that I will consult with military commanders and that we will always be open to the possibility of tactical adjustments," Obama said.
"The important thing is to send a clear signal to the Iraqi people -- and most importantly to the Iraqi leadership -- that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is finite."
McCain economic adviser Carly Fiorina said Obama's trip to Iraq was "a very good thing" and could force him to adjust his views.
"Hopefully he will be moved by the facts on the ground. He will have to acknowledge that the surge is working, and perhaps that will cause him to change his position," she told reporters.
McCain said the focus of the Iraq debate during the presidential campaign should be whether the United States would allow time for the troop surge to succeed.
"The consequences of Senator Obama's advocacy for a time for withdrawal and set dates without a regard for conditions on the ground in my view leads to chaos and genocide," McCain said.
Obama told reporters the billions being spent on Iraq could be better spent in the United States. He pointed out that the Iraqi government has seen its revenues grow amid the jump in oil prices.
"So I think its important for the Iraqis to start picking up more of the tab for both reconstruction efforts as well as the need to boost their military capacity," Obama said.
(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by David Wiessler)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com;
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