Obama Iraq Speech To Signal Shift To Afghan Focus

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) -- With his Oval Office speech Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will signal a shift in America's focus from the Iraq War to the war in Afghanistan, his spokesman said Thursday.

Administration officials have portrayed the 8 p.m. EDT speech as an important pivot point from a war that candidate Obama said should never have been fought to a conflict that President Obama sees as vital to the nation's security.

Previewing the speech as Obama vacationed on Martha's Vineyard, Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said Obama also wants to thank U.S. troops who've fought bravely in Iraq. With the formal U.S. combat mission at an end, troop strength in Iraq this week dropped below 50,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Many of those troops will remain in a backup and training role.

Before his White House speech, Obama will fly to Fort Bliss in Texas on Tuesday to deliver his thanks in person to troops returned from Iraq.

Burton said the Oval Office address "commemorates an important milepost in American history." He said Obama will use the occasion to speak "directly with the American people about what our mission is in Afghanistan (and) the fact that more of our efforts and focus are now on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan."

Iraq has long been a partisan flashpoint, and the run-up to the fall congressional campaign continued the pattern.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Obama had essentially adopted George W. Bush's strategy for gradually winding down the conflict.

McConnell said "the president (Obama) should be commended for ignoring his own campaign rhetoric."

While hailing Obama's Iraq drawdown, Burton denounced militants behind recent attacks on Iraqi security forces there. On Wednesday, a series of bombings and shootings left at least 56 dead.

"The reason for these attacks is people who don't want Iraq to flourish as a democracy," the spokesman said. "There are people who are trying to use fear and terror as a tactic to slow down what is not stoppable in that country."

Burton said Obama is confident the transition to Iraqi control "has been a successful one" and Iraqis are now capable of maintaining their own security.

Comments

[serienajolie]

03:21 AM on 08/31/2010

I'll be glad to see this occupation come to an end. So (hopefully) ends a sad chapter in American history, where a Vice President gleefully ignored hard data presented by the CIA and pushed for a war that never should have been fought.

http://forcefactorsupplements.com

[RageCage]

08:58 PM on 08/29/2010

"Obama: Iraq begins and ends with I, I, I"

"Total mentions of Bush: zero. Total mentions of victory: zero. Total mentions of “I” in speech: six, including the three in the excerpt above. "

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/28/obama-iraq-begins-and-ends-with-i-i-i/

Stay classy, President Obama.

[mobydikk]

02:16 PM on 08/29/2010

Don't be fooled into shifting your own focus away from Iraq. Our country still has tens of thousands of troops there and will continue the devastating deficit spending in Iraq for the forseeable future.

[guveqzero]

01:34 PM on 08/29/2010

Obama already indicated why he wants to stay in Afghanistan, to keep the country from becoming a base which terrorism is cultivated. But, the unspoken reason is to keep an eye on Pakistan and continue to use drones to assassinate. Unfortunately, these reasons justify only a few thousand troops, not the army we have there now. It is obvious now that the president is only as good as the information he receives. Bush, on the other hand, manufactured the information to get what he wanted. I hope that Obama will get some new advisers. And then, I hope they give information to the president that is relevant to our problem. That is, unemployment and how our national security is at stake by ignoring the problem.

[mobydikk]

02:17 PM on 08/29/2010

The first oil well ever in Northern Afghanistan was drilled the other day. Gee, what was focus in Afghanistan again?

[stargazer13]

12:20 PM on 08/29/2010

in other news

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul , R-Tex., plans to introduce a new bill next year that will allow for an audit of US gold reserves, he told Kitco News in an exclusive interview.

“If there was no question about the gold being there, you think they would be anxious to prove gold is there,” he said of the Federal Reserve.

[fowlersammy]

10:15 AM on 08/29/2010

Haven't read this anywhere on this site:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Seven U.S. troops have died in weekend attacks in Afghanistan's embattled southern and eastern regions, while officials found the bodies Sunday of five kidnapped campaign aides working for a female candidate in the western province of Herat.

Two servicemen died in bombings Sunday in southern Afghanistan, while two others were killed in a bomb attack in the south on Saturday and three in fighting in the east the same day, NATO said. Their identities and other details were being withheld until relatives could be notified.

The latest deaths bring to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan after July's high of 66. A total of 62 international forces have died in the country this month, including seven British troops.

[Magick Temple]

12:25 PM on 09/12/2010

indeed, messy as hell and making zero progress

[Michael Valentine]

10:05 AM on 08/29/2010

The Afghanistan war was dumb in 2002 and dumber now.

You can't fight a tactic like terror in a fixed location against a non government agency.

[Magick Temple]

12:24 PM on 09/12/2010

especially given the CIA have since acknowledged they knew Bin Laden and his Al Quida leadership cell was already in Pakistan by the time of the initial invasion

[Dr Juan]

09:20 AM on 08/29/2010

Obama downplays pies still active in Washington - acting against us.

http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/i99ht_022_SpyRing.html

[William McKibbin]

09:19 AM on 08/29/2010

I suspect that the US unemployment rate is consideration in Afghanistan as well. A demobilization of armed forces down to levels that do not include forces in Afghanistan and Iraq simply means soldiers returning home to join the ranks of the unemployed. I abhor the war in Afghanistan, but I would not be surprised if our troop strength in Afghanstan stay constant, while additional US contractors are added to the force structure in order to increase the US presence in Afghanistan. The military-industrial complex will likely prevail over any plans for a redeployment out of Afghanstan. In fact, the US employment situation will probably require that forces be maintained in Afghanistan through 2020 and beyond. Ironically, a mandatory draft of Americans into the armed forces could be partially justified as a means to reduce unemployment. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I suspect Afghanistan is going to get "bigger" if only to increase the scale of the enterprise while creating employment opportunities for Americans in the military...

[guveqzero]

01:20 PM on 08/29/2010

We can bring them home and cut spending without layoffs. I don't get your point.

[camus12]

04:41 AM on 08/29/2010

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5dyeIQeHjGU7Jj8NT-1r2OpMyDw

Seven US troops, politician killed in Afghan attacks

[Patricia Clark Taylor]

09:43 PM on 08/28/2010

1973 Saudi oil embargo
1976 Build King Khaled Military City on Iraq border with Saudi Arabia; also, build up the country of Saudi Arabia. Army Corps of Engineers is the contractor.
1980s Switch to a policy of "all the oil we can use, folks." Bring on more oil; it's cheap by golly. It's almost free! We just love the Saudis! Give 'em lots of weapons. Build Saudi up bigger and better. We don't mind how they treat their women. We have our own ideas about women here in Texas.
1990 Gulf War
1990s No real push for alternative fuels.
2000 Another Bush
2001 Twin Towers and 9/11
2003 Another war
2010 Another war. Let's just keep that oil flowing, folks. There's plenty of wars out there for our children and grandchildren. Meanwhile bring on Sharia Law.

[monthofmay]

01:05 PM on 08/29/2010

It's so inconvenient to endanger your bread and butter. Not just oil, but about so much more...the clergy, the banks. Gentle, easy going people inherit money and stocks and become born again! Twas ever thus...

[Patricia Clark Taylor]

08:59 AM on 08/30/2010

So very true!

[AlphaSam]

06:58 PM on 08/28/2010

We, and the American Air Force, could end this war quickly. The military do not want to end this war quickly. They want to keep the billion of dollars flowing into the machine machine. Do the job we've been paying for. Of course that isn't going to happen. We need those billions flowing in. For the military/corporate complex. So the rich can get get richer. What do the lives of a few thousand Americans matter, anyway?

[monthofmay]

07:49 AM on 08/31/2010

Yes, yes, we know that!! Now what can we do about it?? Most of us all over the country know the USA has become a generic brand of the oligarchs. It always has been to some extent, Thomas Jefferson warned us over and over. Lincoln warned us...

Like I joked with Patricia up there...I'm pinning my hope on inbreeding...I mean, look at Tony Hayward!! The line lacks hybrid vigor!!

[JDM73]

06:29 PM on 08/28/2010

Leaving thousands of combat troops behind in Iraq and calling them "advisory and assistance brigades" is not the same thing as removing all combat troops. It's semantical BS and it makes me sick at heart that anyone accepts it.

[AlphaSam]

06:39 PM on 08/28/2010

This is 1984. We are not leaving at all. 50,000 troops left behind is not leaving. Mainstream media projects the government line. We are being lied to. Over and over. Wake up!

[tony wise]

10:40 PM on 08/28/2010

Tony Wise barak obama needs to apologize about misleading americans about the end of combat operations in iraq. the troops deserve more than this. 50,000 american soldiers remain in iraq, engaging in the same type of combat they have been for eight years. conducting counter-terrorism, defending iraqs borders and training the iraqis to do both. no difference. yes, troops are coming home. thats great and a relief to all of america. but we should NOT forget or believe that our troops are somehow in less danger.

there has already been a combat fatality since obamas declaration. a young man died from a rocket attack. rockets are used...in combat. there have been news reports about some of the soldiers openly scoffing, and 1 mother at least who prepared for a son who wasn't coming home, because she heard combat operations had ended. and there is certainly no reason for this grandiose claim. no law that says we have to claim any kind of end to anything. its purely political. "See looky america i ended combat operations as promised"! this is shameful and denigrates every soldier who is in iraq laying their lives on the line for their country. call your congressman and demand better from the commander in chief.

[caffeineod]

03:02 AM on 08/29/2010

Obama has replaced Bush as liar in chief....one term and out...so what if Palin gets elected...she can't do anything on her own and would just continue the Bush policy like Obama....this government no longer represents the people....and that is the truth....

[AlphaSam]

06:25 PM on 08/28/2010

This is all bulls**t by politicians. When do we stop the killing? When Obama was elected, most of us thought we had entered a new age, with humans in charge. We just got fooled. More of the same. Build the empire. Obama has stood up for wall street, the rich, and done nothing for the people. Why should we be surprised? He is a politician. He says what he has to say so he can be elected, but he has no core values. War is not worth one single life. You say it is, but what if were you. asked to give your life so that more drugs could flow from this area into our country? What ever happened to truth, honesty, and goodness? I guess that just not american anymore.

[markm8128]

09:56 PM on 08/28/2010

Sorry...I have to disagree with all of that.

I, personally, am thrilled that Obama has brought an end to the US combat role in Iraq, this month.

It never would have happened under Bush/Cheney...who promised us an unending 30-year gobal war against terrorism. I think Obama is also sincere in his announced timeline to bring an end to the war in Afghnaistan.

Although the press doesn't honor him...I think Obama has been 100% truthful in living up to every one of his campaing promises. Nobody said it would be easy...or that he could end the War in iraq, overnight...but he has actually done what he said he would do...and bring an end to the US combat role in Iraq.

[caffeineod]

03:05 AM on 08/29/2010

HOW can you say that? Seriously....changing the words does not change the fact....as long as Americans are in Iraq and in uniform we are in a combat situation...just because someone says something is one way and not the other doesn't make it true...Not only are there 50,000+ soldiers there, but we also pay for an equal amount of mercenaries....obama has failed and lied....sorry...I won't be voting for him again....and millions just like me feel the same...

[Dr Juan]

09:31 AM on 08/29/2010

The 60,000 that are still there (and they all have weapons) will probably never be able to leave due to continued unrest. The bases we built are huge and we can't just turn them over to tribal forces lead by 1001 rebellion leaders. And high explosives Bush allowed to be sacked from our own armories in 2004-6 and more coming from China will continue the IED problem.

[Jerry Lammers]

02:11 PM on 08/28/2010

WOW!!! Vietnamization in Afghan clothing. I guess we never learn.