The Iraq Pivot

Now that the primaries are over, Barack is clearly uncomfortable with his position on Iraq, as well he should be - it's a blatant lie designed to trick the Moveon.org crowd. While he still claims that his position is a scheduled, sixteen month withdrawal without regard for realities on the ground, he's been equivocating.

Obama seeks to portray himself as an opponent of the Iraq war, but has repeatedly rejected what he describes as a “precipitous withdrawal” of troops—Bush’s “artificial timetable”—stating that he “has always believed that our troops need to be withdrawn responsibly” and that troops involved in “counterterrorism” operations would stay. In practice this means maintaining the occupation indefinitely.

The Washington Post, of all places, went after Barack for his ridiculous position on Iraq in an editorial yesterday.

Mr. Obama laid out his current strategy for Iraq in November 2006, shortly before announcing his candidacy for president. At the time, Iraq appeared to be on the verge of a sectarian civilian war, and Mr. Obama was trying to distinguish himself in the Democratic primary race by offering a timetable for withdrawal. Nineteen months later, the situation in Iraq has changed dramatically, with violence down 75 percent from its peak and the Iraqi government and army in control of most of the country. But Mr. Obama has not altered his position: He still proposes withdrawing most U.S. troops according to a fixed timetable, set to the most rapid pace at which commanders have said American forces could be pulled out.

Barack recently had a phone conversation with the foreign minister of Iraq, Hoshyar Zebari, who met this week with the Post's editorial board. The Post reports that Zebari expressed concerns about Barack's drawdown position, but was comforted by what Barack had to say in their talk.

Mr. Zebari said that in addition to promising a visit, Mr. Obama said that "if there would be a Democratic administration, it will not take any irresponsible, reckless, sudden decisions or action to endanger your gains, your achievements, your stability or security. Whatever decision he will reach will be made through close consultation with the Iraqi government and U.S. military commanders in the field."

So, as Barack signals a move away from the phony anti-war position he used to marginalize Hillary as not being anti-war enough, the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto speculates on what comes next.

Could it be that Obama is planning to pivot? That is, what if he goes to Iraq and declares upon his return that he has been persuaded that the surge has made a difference, that things are going much better, and that he is now convinced victory is both possible and crucial?

On the downside, he would risk alienating those among his supporters who crave defeat in Iraq, either for ideological reasons or out of sheer hatred for George W. Bush.

But on the upside, it would show political courage and open-mindedness, two qualities his supporters are eager to ascribe to him but so far on the basis of evidence that is somewhere between scant and nonexistent.

This would be nothing new, of course, a politician who holds a strong position in the primary season to secure the base, but then moves to the center for the general election. But Iraq is the issue that Barack used to define his uniqueness - this is the issue that made him the change candidate. Can he pull this off without completely destroying his credibility?

Yes He Can. The wackos have no where else to go, and mainstream liberals are so in love with Barack it doesn't matter what he says. And he must. Because his current position, withdrawal at any cost, is indefensible.*

Which describes, of course, politics as usual. Which Barack is very good at.


* The big irony is that Barack, the anti-war candidate, doesn't have a plan for getting us out of the war. His proposed scheduled withdrawal was always an impossible idea, designed to feed the lust of the anti-war crowd that he needed to fuel his long-shot candidacy. But the fervor for change is so powerful that the lie was, and is, enough to satisfy those who wanted to hear it. Barack's pivot, which he is clearly in the middle of now, is taking place in front of the eyes of millions of supporters who are oblivious to the adjustment, and the betrayal that it represents.