Republican National Committee News

RNC: REFINING WITHDRAWAL? Obama Says He Will Continue To 'Refine' His Iraq Policy; Misleads On Troop Safety

WASHINGTON, July 3 PRNewswire-USNewswire — The following release is being issued by the Republican National Committee:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/RNCLOGO )

Today, Obama Admitted That He Would "Continue To Refine" His Plan For Withdrawal From Iraq:

Obama Said He Will Continue To "Refine" His Iraq Policy. Obama: "I've always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed...And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies." (Jeff Zeleny, "Obama: Open to 'Refine' Iraq Withdrawal Timeline," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, www.nytimes.com, 7/3/08)

Obama Also Said That His "Guiding Approach Continues To Be That We've Got To Make Sure That Our Troops Are Safe." Obama: "My 16-month timeline, if you examine everything that I've said, was always premised on making sure that our troops were safe...I said that based on the information that we had received from our commanders that one to two brigades a month could be pulled out safely, from a logistical perspective. My guiding approach continues to be that we've got to make sure that our troops are safe and that Iraq is stable." (Jeff Zeleny, "Obama: Open to 'Refine' Iraq Withdrawal Timeline," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, www.nytimes.com, 7/3/08)

Obama Has Said That He Would Remove Troops From Iraq Regardless Of What Military Commanders Advised:

In May 2008, Obama Promised To End The War In 2009. Obama: "When I promise that we are going to bring this war in Iraq to a close in 2009, I want the American people to understand that I opposed this war in 2002, 2003, '04, '05, '06 and '07, so you can have confidence that I will be serious about ending this war." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At The North Carolina Democrat Party 2008 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Raleigh, NC, 5/2/08)

Obama Committed To Withdrawing Troops From Iraq Regardless Of The Advice He Received From Commanders On The Ground. ABC's Charles Gibson: "And, Senator Obama, your campaign manager, David Plouffe, said, 'When he is' — this is talking about you - 'When he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in 16 months at the most. There should be no confusion about that.' So you'd give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order to bring them home?" Obama: "Because the commander-in-chief sets the mission, Charlie. That's not the role of the generals. ... Now, I will always listen to our commanders on the ground with respect to tactics, once I've given them a new mission, that we are going to proceed deliberately, in an orderly fashion, out of Iraq, and we are going to have our combat troops out. We will not have permanent bases there. Once I have provided that mission, if they come to me and want to adjust tactics, then I will certainly take their recommendations into consideration. But, ultimately, the buck stops with me as the commander-in-chief." (Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)

In March 2008, Obama Said He Would "Immediately Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq And Have Them Out In 16 Months." "In order to end this war responsibly, I will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We can responsibly remove one to two combat brigades each month. If we start with the number of brigades we have in Iraq today, we can remove all of them 16 months." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)

Obama's Own Campaign Website Says He Will "Immediately Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq." "Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months." (Obama For America Website, www.barackobama.com, Accessed 7/3/08)

FLASHBACK: Obama Voted Against Critical Funding To Provide Troops With The Equipment They Needed To Keep Them Safe:

Obama Voted Against Providing $94.4 Billion In Funding For The Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan. (H.R. 2206, CQ Vote #181: Passed 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10; I 1-1, 5/24/07, Obama Voted Nay)

The Iraq Emergency Spending Bill That Obama Voted Against Provided:

$1.6 Billion For Body Armor

$2.4 Billion To Help Combat IEDs

$3 Billion For Mine Resistant Vehicles

(House And Senate Committees On Appropriations, "Summary Of The Fiscal 2007 Supplemental Funding Legislation," Press Release, 5/24/07)

Paid for by the Republican National Committee.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Republican National Committee

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