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Obama’s Magical Mystery Tour

July 19th, 2008
By ROBERT STEIN

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He’s in Afghanistan today and will go on to Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England on what his campaign hopes will be a 21st century reprise of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour with its theme of “All You Need Is Love” but at the same time has the potential to be a gauntlet of political minefields and security nightmares.

Despite the advance secrecy, John McCain yesterday blurted out that Obama would be going “either today or tomorrow” and that “Sen. Obama is going to arrive in Baghdad in a much, much safer and secure environment than the one that he would’ve encountered before we started the surge.” Maybe so, but someone might remind McCain of the old World War II slogan, “Loose Lips Sink Ships.”

Physical security aside, Obama may get a warm reception in Baghdad if what Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told the German magazine Der Spiegel about troop withdrawal is any indication.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under France, United Kingdom, Germany, Nouri al-Maliki, Withdrawal, Surge, John McCain, Barack Obama, Middle East, 2008 Elections, War, Afghanistan, Israel, Iraq, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 24 Comments

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    What secrecy? NPR was talking about Obama's trip yesterday.
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    The secrecy part had to do with his exact itinerary in Iraq. I think McCain's comments were pretty innocent - he didn't have Obama's schedule.

    That said, Maliki's endorsement of Obama's 16 month withdrawal plan is a HUGE headache for McCain. What better endorsement of Obama's Iraq vision than Maliki's endorsement?

    As Ezra Klein said today, imagine for a moment if Maliki had rejected a timetable and dismissed Obama's talk as domestic politics. McCain would, rightly, have a field day with it.
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    It's imperative that Obama be kept safe until after the November election where he will lose. If something were to happen to him now, the democrats would nominate Hillary Clinton and she would win in November. The GOP will spare no expense and man in black to keep him safe until the vote.
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    Magical Mystery Tour? I'm surprised references to Moses plus Jesus weren't included as well somehow. [rolling eyes]

    The main thing is, he had to go to Iraq, and this trip was a good idea. The Bush-bashing losers will of tend to worship his every word and idea and say it is all brilliant. I'm more interested to learn about the details and to see what he does after being elected, and how much it matches what he is promising now.

    And no, his tour is not like the Pelosi-and-Company intentional-intrusion-into-and-disruption-of-foreign policy disgusting tour they took to deliberately undermine Bush and the State Department several months ago.

    Silhouette, are you still paranoid or even delusional? Obama is likely to win, not to lose.
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    Actually I like seeing the Iraqis demanding the US get out of Iraq. That is making it easy for us and if GWB had any balls he would start pulling troops out now. We can no longer afford this war and the debt is monumental.

    I chastize Obama heavily because he wants to escalate the war in Afghanistan. I say screw em. Bring them all home and lets focus on balancing the budget, paying down the debt and getting our national security in order. 5 dollar gasoline and a huge addiction to foreign oil is not in our best interests.
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    "That said, Maliki's endorsement of Obama's 16 month withdrawal plan is a HUGE headache for McCain. "

    I discount it as PC, but obviously we know which candidate is preferred outside the USA. Same as I suspect is preferred inside the USA.

    I am "stationed" and work near Warren, MI, where McCain spoke yesterday at the GM Tech Center, and it was played on a local radio station so I listened (I was on the road). Only near the very end of his speech did McCain get *** ANY *** sound, any reaction from the audience (lukewarm applause). Nobody laughed at any of his jokes. He remains merely a plodder who is hoping to "survive" by being the public's "default" candidate for those who are suspicious or wary of Obama.
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    "That said, Maliki's endorsement of Obama's 16 month withdrawal plan is a HUGE headache for McCain."

    To me Afghanistan is an even better excuse to leave. I'm not concerned about disaster in most of Iraq -- that's their fault, not ours at all -- but I do fear seeing the oil fields get into the hands of terrorists or Iranian proxies. Nobody decent or normal in the West wants to see that.

    As for Afghanistan, I'd prefer we go in there and exterminate as many Talebs as we can, including those in Pakistan and their accomplices (even members of the ISI -- eff 'em -- that frontier zone and the criminals there even merit putting chemicals on the place as well as using nukes to wipe out cave complexes) but technically, yes, Neocon, you're right. We can leave and any new attack on us at home engineered or supported from there could always be met with one or more missiles. Why do things the harder and more expensive way when we're not obliged?
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    Seeing how Obama's candidacy has brought out hidden racial attitudes all across this country, there may be someone out there who'd try something. Sil, it may even be a Hilary supporter instead of a right-wing nut job. j/k

    Elrod has a good point, I wonder how the GOP will try to spin that one as a negative for Obama. Or it's another mis-translation, aka, Maliki's position moves again.
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    I'm not concerned about disaster in most of Iraq -- that's their fault, not ours at all...


    Incredible... simply incredible!
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    Is this some kind of physiological trick DLS? It's funny that you're already admitting defeat for McCain when November is still a long way off. Now, if I remember right, you were backing another in the primary, so are you being the GOP counterpart of Sil? LOL

    Wow, Neocon & DLS saying we should pull out of Iraq & Afghanistan?! Did you guys check your temperature?

    Well, at least DLS' Afghan plan would kill more AQ/Taliban fighters on the way out. To use Neocon's words, if GWB had any balls he would start bombing right away. There's nothing of value in Afghanistan anyway, right? So why not just leave it a radioactive waste land?