Bericht van Obama (Irak)

[Hein van Meeteren]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Deze mail kreeg ik van Barack:

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Dear Hein,
Five years ago today, President George W. Bush launched a war that
should never have been authorized based on faulty premises and bad
intelligence.

This war has now lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the
Civil War.

Nearly four thousand Americans have given their lives. Thousands more
have been wounded. Even under the best-case scenarios, this war will
cost American taxpayers well over a trillion dollars.

And where are we for all of this sacrifice?

We are less safe and less able to shape events abroad. We are divided at
home, and our alliances around the world have been strained. The threats
of a new century have roiled the waters of peace and stability, and yet
America remains anchored in Iraq.

I am running for President because it's time to turn the page on a
failed ideology and a fundamentally flawed political strategy, so that
we can make pragmatic judgments to keep our country safe.

That's what I did when I stood up and opposed this war from the start
and said that we needed to finish the fight against al Qaeda. And that's
what I'll do as President of the United States.

Please take a few minutes to read my strategy for ending the war in Iraq
and making America safer. I hope you will sign on and show your support:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

Senator Clinton says that she and Senator McCain have passed a
"Commander-in-Chief test" -- not because of the judgments they've made,
but because of the years they've spent in Washington.

She made a similar argument when she said her vote for war was based on
her experience at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

But here is the stark reality: there is a security gap in this country
-- a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national
security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions.

It is time to have a debate with Senator McCain about the future of our
national security. And the way to win that debate and keep America safe
is to offer a clear contrast -- a clean break from the failed policies
and politics of the past.

Nowhere is that break more badly needed than in Iraq.

Join me in supporting an end to this war and a plan for a safer America:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

The judgment that matters most on Iraq -- and on any decision to deploy
military force -- is the judgment made first.

If you believe we are fighting the right war, then the problems we face
are purely tactical in nature. That is what Senator McCain wants to
discuss -- tactics. What he and the Administration have failed to
present is an overarching strategy: how the war in Iraq enhances our
long-term security, or will in the future.

That's why this Administration cannot answer the simple question posed
by Senator John Warner in hearings last year: Are we safer because of
this war? And that is why Senator McCain can argue -- as he did last
year -- that we couldn't leave Iraq because violence was up, and then
argue this year that we can't leave Iraq because violence is down.

When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of
success.

Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy
indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not
force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And
fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.

When I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on Day One: I will
end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops
cannot bear the burden -- as heavy as it is. But because it is the right
thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.

Show your support for a clear strategy to end the war in Iraq and focus
our national security efforts on making America safer:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

Here are the core elements of my strategy to address our critical
national security challenges in the 21st century:

     * End the war in Iraq, removing our troops at a pace of 1 to 2
combat brigades per month;
     * Finally finish the fight against the Taliban, root out al Qaeda
and invest in the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while making aid
to the Pakistani government conditional;
     * Act aggressively to stop nuclear proliferation and to secure all
loose nuclear materials around the world;
     * Double our foreign assistance to cut extreme poverty in half;
     * Invest in a clean energy future to wean the U.S. off of foreign
oil and to lead the world against the threat of global climate change;
     * Rebuild our military capability by increasing the number of
soldiers, marines, and special forces troops, and insist on adequate
training and time off between deployments;
     * Renew American diplomacy by talking to our adversaries as well as
our friends; increasing the size of the Foreign Service and the Peace
Corps; and creating an America's Voice Corps.

Please take a minute to show your support for this plan:

http://my.barackobama.com/fiveyearslater

We are at a defining moment in our history.

This must be the election when America comes together behind a common
purpose on behalf of our security and our values.

That is what we do as Americans. It's how we founded a republic based on
freedom, and faced down fascism. It's how we defended democracy through
a Cold War, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the
darkest corners of the world.

When America leads with principle and pragmatism, hope can triumph over
fear. It is time, once again, for America to lead.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

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