A Loud Silence
That's the response from the "antiwar" wing of the
Democratic party to Obama's Iraq sellout
by
Justin Raimondo
by Justin Raimondo
DIGG THIS
 Is
it really possible that President-elect Barack Obama intends to
break his campaign promise to "end the war" in Iraq, and keep US
troops in that country well beyond the sixteen
month timetable for withdrawal he advocated during the campaign?
The answer,
according to the New York Times, is a fairly certain yes:
"On the campaign
trail, Senator Barack Obama offered a pledge that electrified
and motivated his liberal base, vowing to "end the war" in Iraq.
"But as he
moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making
clearer than ever that tens of thousands of American troops will
be left behind in Iraq, even if he can make good on his campaign
promise to pull all combat forces out within 16 months.
"'I said
that I would remove our combat troops from Iraq in 16 months,
with the understanding that it might be necessary – likely to
be necessary – to maintain a residual force to provide potential
training, logistical support, to protect our civilians in Iraq,'
Mr. Obama said this week as he introduced his national security
team."
 Tens
of thousands – a prime
target for terrorists, a "residual force" that, in any other
context, would be seen as an army of occupation, and a reminder
to the Iraqis that they still aren't free of us, nor we of them.
That "residual" force, we are told, could number as high as 70,000
troops "for a substantial time even beyond 2011." At a cost of billions,
to be sure.
This is not
"ending" the war.
The retention
of Gates,
the appointment of Hillary
the Hawk, the "team
of rivals" gambit that is supposed
to inoculate Obama against criticism from the pro-war right – this
pre-inaugural political drama is a dress rehearsal for betrayal.
Antiwar voters, who put
Obama in office, are about to get screwed – and their alleged
spokespersons, at least amongst the left-wing punditariat, are bending
over with alacrity. Somebody please tell Rachel Maddow to drop the
"quackitude,"
and reorient her own attitude – because she soon won't have
George W. Bush to kick around anymore. The ball is in her court
– and in Keith
Olbermann's, if he can only remember to take his meds.
Read
the rest of the article
December
6, 2008
Justin
Raimondo [send him mail]
is editorial director of Antiwar.com
and is the author of An
Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard and Reclaiming
the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement.
Copyright
© 2008 Antiwar.com
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