Obama: Surge Succeeded Beyond ‘Wildest Dreams’

[GaryC 7]

Obama: Surge Succeeded Beyond ‘Wildest Dreams’

by FOXNews.com

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Thursday: Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, sits for an interview with FOX News' Bill O'Reilly.

The troop surge in Iraq has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, Barack Obama conceded Thursday in his first-ever interview on FOX News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.”

As recently as July, the Democratic presidential candidate declined to rate the surge a success, but said it had helped reduce violence in the country. On Thursday, Obama acknowledged the 2007 increase in U.S. troops has benefited the Iraqi people.

“I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”

Watch Barack Obama’s interview with Bill O’Reilly at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on FOX News Channel. Click here for a preview.

However, he added, the country has not had enough “political reconciliation” and Iraqis still have not taken responsibility for their country.

Speaking on other national security matters, Obama said he would not take military action off the table in dealing with Iran, but diplomacy and sanctions can’t be overlooked.

The Islamic republic is a “major threat” and it would be “unacceptable” for the rogue nation to develop a nuclear weapon, he said.

“It is unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, it would be a game changer,” Obama said. “It’s sufficient to say I would not take military action off the table and that I will never hesitate to use our military force in order to protect the homeland and the United States’ interests.”

But Obama also warned against the current U.S. administration lumping radical Islamic groups together.

“They have fueled a whole host of terrorist organizations,” Obama said of Iran, but “we have to have the ability to distinguish between groups. … They may not all be part and parcel of the same ideology.”

Obama sat down with O’Reilly in York, Pa., after holding a discussion on the economy with voters nearby. The Illinois senator has been campaigning in battleground states since accepting the Democratic presidential nomination last Thursday at his party’s convention in Denver.

Obama said he “absolutely” believes the United States is fighting a War on Terror, with the enemy being, “Al Qaeda, the Taliban, a whole host of networks that are bent on attacking America, who have a distorted ideology, who have perverted the faith of Islam.”

He repeated his campaign’s foreign policy position that Afghanistan must become the “central front” in the War on Terror.

Obama was first asked to come on “The O’Reilly Factor” in early 2007. The interview will air in three more parts after Thursday, from Monday through Wednesday next week.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/04/ob...wildest-dreams/

[symbiosis 0]

Obama: Surge Succeeded Beyond ‘Wildest Dreams’

by FOXNews.com

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Thursday: Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, sits for an interview with FOX News' Bill O'Reilly.

The troop surge in Iraq has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, Barack Obama conceded Thursday in his first-ever interview on FOX News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.”

As recently as July, the Democratic presidential candidate declined to rate the surge a success, but said it had helped reduce violence in the country. On Thursday, Obama acknowledged the 2007 increase in U.S. troops has benefited the Iraqi people.

“I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”

Watch Barack Obama’s interview with Bill O’Reilly at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on FOX News Channel. Click here for a preview.

However, he added, the country has not had enough “political reconciliation” and Iraqis still have not taken responsibility for their country.

Speaking on other national security matters, Obama said he would not take military action off the table in dealing with Iran, but diplomacy and sanctions can’t be overlooked.

The Islamic republic is a “major threat” and it would be “unacceptable” for the rogue nation to develop a nuclear weapon, he said.

“It is unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, it would be a game changer,” Obama said. “It’s sufficient to say I would not take military action off the table and that I will never hesitate to use our military force in order to protect the homeland and the United States’ interests.”

But Obama also warned against the current U.S. administration lumping radical Islamic groups together.

“They have fueled a whole host of terrorist organizations,” Obama said of Iran, but “we have to have the ability to distinguish between groups. … They may not all be part and parcel of the same ideology.”

Obama sat down with O’Reilly in York, Pa., after holding a discussion on the economy with voters nearby. The Illinois senator has been campaigning in battleground states since accepting the Democratic presidential nomination last Thursday at his party’s convention in Denver.

Obama said he “absolutely” believes the United States is fighting a War on Terror, with the enemy being, “Al Qaeda, the Taliban, a whole host of networks that are bent on attacking America, who have a distorted ideology, who have perverted the faith of Islam.”

He repeated his campaign’s foreign policy position that Afghanistan must become the “central front” in the War on Terror.

Obama was first asked to come on “The O’Reilly Factor” in early 2007. The interview will air in three more parts after Thursday, from Monday through Wednesday next week.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/04/ob...wildest-dreams/

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

[GaryC 7]

What? No comment? Obama has made most of his career out of saying the war cannot be won. I wonder if he will keep bringing up the fact he said the surge didn't work.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

You should email this to Lindsay Graham...he's speaking right now and putting his foot right in his mouth.

[GaryC 7]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

[symbiosis 0]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

[GaryC 7]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

[Peikko 1,575]

Good for Barack, he's changed his stance to something a little bit more comprehensible. I always said standing on the 'I didn't vote for the war' soap box wouldn't get him very far.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What? No comment? Obama has made most of his career out of saying the war cannot be won. I wonder if he will keep bringing up the fact he said the surge didn't work.

Well I'm sure the man is allowed to change his mind as circumstances change. Its not uncommon for people to do that...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Good for Barack, he's changed his stance to something a little bit more comprehensible. I always said standing on the 'I didn't vote for the war' soap box wouldn't get him very far.

Yep - you can't rely on a 2003 position in 2008.

[symbiosis 0]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

The end of any argument a Republican can't win (which is nearly all of them), the coup de grace is always to question one's patriotism. Pathetic.

[GaryC 7]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

The end of any argument a Republican can't win (which is nearly all of them), the coup de grace is always to question one's patriotism. Pathetic.

And when faced with facts they can't ignore the dems always try to make a success into a failure. We won Iraq, get used to it.

[symbiosis 0]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

The end of any argument a Republican can't win (which is nearly all of them), the coup de grace is always to question one's patriotism. Pathetic.

And when faced with facts they can't ignore the dems always try to make a success into a failure. We won Iraq, get used to it.

Just like we won Vietnam. Even if true, it doesn't make up for the thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered for no good reason. Or, can you give us a reason?

Edited September 5, 2008 by symbiosis

[GaryC 7]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

The end of any argument a Republican can't win (which is nearly all of them), the coup de grace is always to question one's patriotism. Pathetic.

And when faced with facts they can't ignore the dems always try to make a success into a failure. We won Iraq, get used to it.

Just like we won Vietnam. Even if true, it doesn't make up for the thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered for no good reason. Or, can you give us a reason?

Ah, so now you say we won but you can't see any good from it. Oh well, at least it's one small step in the right direction.

[Peikko 1,575]

In other words, with a few trillion more dollars, we can win on the ground. When we leave, it all reverts to sh*t. This is not new; this is Vietnam.

You would love it if this were another "Vietnam" wouldn't you? It looks like you are living in the past when the dems glory days of demonstrations and anti-American slogans ruled the day. Tell you what, why don't you go to the airport and spit at a few returning soldiers. Call them baby killers while your at it.

You can't resist being an idiot, can you?

Just following your example.

The end of any argument a Republican can't win (which is nearly all of them), the coup de grace is always to question one's patriotism. Pathetic.

And when faced with facts they can't ignore the dems always try to make a success into a failure. We won Iraq, get used to it.

We won Iraq? What exactly did we win in Iraq? A US sympathising state? A stable Democracy?

What the surge has brought is a sense that it will be possible for Iraq to begin to self govern without constant interuptions by insurgent violence, which is a good thing of that there is no doubt but I hardly think one can say it is an unqualified success or one that has been won without tremendous and many would argue unnecessary cost.

Maybe that is where the disparity lies? That your posts are viewed as triumphalism when the reality does not call for, or merit any such behaviour. It may not be what you intend, but I believe that is the reaction.