The Iraq War

The Problems

The Iraq war is an important issue to the Obama campaign. The problems in Barack Obama and Joe Biden's eyes are that there is a lack of security throughout Iraq for US troops. They also feel that there isn't enough political progress, meaning that the Iraqi's are not stepping up to the plate as much as we would like them to. Barack believes that it is President Bush to blame for both issues.
Obama and Biden also see the amount of military use somewhat unnecessary. Over 1,750,000 people have served in Iraq or Afghanistan just from the US. Over 620,000 have been there twice. Because of this, our military equipment is wearing down at 9 times the normal rate, which makes it become less helpful faster.
The final problem that I am going to cover , although there are many more, is the issue of needing a new strategy for war. The Iraq War has lasted longer then WWI, WWII, and The Civil War. Over 60,000 soldiers have been hurt, and over 4,000 have died. The US has spent over 2.7 trillion dollars on the war. The rest of the world doesn't really agree with the decisions that the government has been making and we are losing allies. Even in the country, people will get in fights and start riots and protests about the war. We have been able to keep violence to a minimum, but we are forcing the Iraqis to take responsibility the wrong way. With our current strategy, we will never restore our position in the world and remake allies.

The Obama Solution

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. The very instant Barack gets into office, Barack is going to give his Secretary of Defense and Military Commanders a new task, to end the war in Iraq. Barack wants to take the troops out orderly and in phases that would remove every soldier within 16 months. That means that our soldiers could be safe at home by 2010.

Barack plans to send diplomats to try and make Iraq and its neighboring countries (Iran, Syria) to become stable. That would make it easier to locate and corner al Qaeda. These diplomats will help certain Iraqi organizations make peace with themselves, and their country. He also plans to provide financial support to keep Iraq moving along mostly by itself.

Obama's Record

Barack has opposed the war since it's start in 2002. He said that the war would become "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences." In 2007 he suggested a phased removal of troops from the war zone.