Barack Obama is set to complete a masterful overseas trip with his stop in Berlin tomorrow, and has proven yet again that he can gain and sustain the respect of foreign leaders and military commanders. His flawless three-point shot in front of adoring American troops in Kuwait is the perfect image that captures perhaps the most consequential foreign trip by a presidential candidate in recent history.
In Afghanistan, Obama reiterated his belief that America lost focus in the hunt for the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, and along with Senator's Reed and Hegel stated that:
"We're in Afghanistan because this is the central front in the war on terrorism. Those who actually attacked us on 9/11 reside in the badlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have regrouped and they are getting stronger..."
In Iraq, Obama met with a range of military offices and Iraqis, including General David Petraeus and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The New York Times concluded that his Iraq trip went off without a hitch:
"After a day spent meeting Iraqi leaders and American military commanders, Mr. Obama seemed to have navigated one of the riskiest parts of a weeklong international trip without a noticeable hitch and to have gained a new opportunity to blunt attacks on his national security credentials by his Republican rival in the presidential race, Senator John McCain."
"Whether by chance or by design, the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq chose a day when Mr. Obama was in the country to provide its clearest statement yet about its views on the withdrawal of American troops. After a weekend of dispute about precisely what Mr. Maliki was suggesting, his spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters in Baghdad, "We cannot give any timetables or dates, but the Iraqi government believes the end of 2010 is the appropriate time for the withdrawal."
All this while the McCain campaigned tried to make the argument that precisely because the U.S. is "winning" in Iraq, any notion of leaving by the end of 2010 (more than two years from now!) is irresponsible. This while America's most senior military leaders are asking for more troops in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday in Israel, Obama reiterated his commitment to Israel while promising to act as a friend to both Israelis and Palestinians if he were elected to the Oval Office.
For the McCain camp, it has been quite a different week. On the day Obama was sinking three-pointers in Baghdad, McCain was seen traveling with the elder George Bush in a golf cart. Then the campaign tried to score points be publicizing the fact that the New York Times rejected McCain's opinion piece on Iraq. Later in the week, McCain claimed that the "surge" of U.S. troops into Iraq in early 2007 helped begin the so-called Anbar Awakening in Iraq in 2006, which was widely reported as the gaffe it was.
Later on Wednesday, a new poll showed that Obama is maintaining his 6-point lead over McCain. I think one can assume that the powerful images of Obama speaking to an estimated 100,000 people tomorrow in Berlin will push those numbers even higher.