Illinois senator Barack Obama laid out a new US foreign policy at a speech held in Washington today, ahead of his trips to Europe and the Middle East. In this wide ranging script he promised to push and work harder with allies to tackle the increasing amount of threats in the 21st century.
The presumptive democratic nominee outlined his plans to end the US occupation in Iraq and in turn focus on the increasingly hostile Afghanistan. In his biggest speech on foreign policy since he entered the presidential race in February last year, he said the US has "paid a price for foreign policy that lectures without listening". Resuming his position he continued by identifying the US as too focused on Iraq and neglectful of Afghanistan as the Taliban have been allowed to regroup and re-arm into a significant fighting force that poses a massive threat to what is progressively becoming a failed state.
Senator Obama has advocated the withdrawel of US troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office should he be elected as President of the United States. He intends to secure the situation in Afghanistan with not only US combat troops being pulled out in Iraq, but an additional two brigades of US combat soldiers (10,000 extra boots in the sand).
"We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there,"
Reports identify a fierce resurgance of Taliban forces gaining ground in Afghanistan, with time to organise progressive offensive strategies they have been able to mount sophisticated suprise attacks, underlined by the nine US troops who were killed in action last week.
Obama's Republican opponent Arizona Senator John McCain also held a speech on Foreign policy from a town hall in Albuquerque today. One of Mcain's foreign policy advisors noted that senator Obama voted last year in the Senate against the increase of resources in Afgahanistan.
The past year has seen Senators McCain and Obama debate the situation in Iraq and the significance of the Surge tactic. McCain backed the military surge and Obama opposed such a hastey strategy and suggested that US troops should retreat quickly. News reports would suggest that the Surge has been 50% succesful, and recent intelligence identifies that violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since 2004. Mcain says the Surge has brought structure to Iraq after forcing out insurgents and ceasing civil war between militias. Therefore, in McCain's eyes Obama was wrong to oppose the Surge and has quite abruptly changed his position and drawn up a surge of his own for US troops in Afganistan. The Republican party continue to criticise Senator Obama for failing to explain his policy on the withdrawel from Iraq, McCain recently added that Obama was "flip flopping". McCain says Obama refuses to accept that the Surge tactic has been a success when recent evidence would suggest that it has offered considerable security to areas of severe violence. The Illinois Senator answered McCain by saying that the war in Iraq, and the Surge in Iraq has been a "dangerous distraction" in which US Foreign Policy has lost focus the real threat, Afghanistan.
The Republican party led by John McCain suggest that to relieve US troops of their duties in Iraq to pursue security in its eastern neighbour Afghanistan will undo significant improvements made to the country since the 2003 invasion. McCain believes that "Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq," referring to the Illinois senator's plan to withdraw most US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months and send two extra combat brigades to the Afghan war.
Progress has been made in Iraq since the invasion as we have seen diplomatic processes take place and the installation of an elected government. But since the topple of Suddam Husseins brutal authoritarian government, coalition forces paved the way for relentless secterian civil war which sees rival factions and militias fighting for power. Yes a democratic government has been installed, but avert your eyes from the streets and look at where the government resides. In the Green Zone, a 10km area in central Baghdad, surrounded with blast walls and the only secure area for international diplomats.
The fact that the elected government in Iraq is taking refuge behind thick blast walls doesn't display much confidence in the trained Iraqi Police forces. Are they really ready for coalition troops to abandon the area? Or should International forces stay a while longer and continue to oversee the slow progress of of a democratic government trying to bring order to one of the most dangerous places on earth?
In a recent poll 49% of American voters would say that to leave Iraq would be counterproductive. Also 47% of voters polled in favour of McCain, saying they trusted him to handle the war in Iraq, Obama received 45% of the vote.
GLOSSARY
Surge - The term Surge or 'Troop Surge' describes George Bush's decision to deploy an extra 20,000 US Troops to Iraq in January 2007. Dubbed, Operation Bagdad Security plan.
Green Zone - A massive international zone in the centre of Baghdad. Surrounded by blast walls and barbed wire it houses the new Iraqi elected government.
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