Iraq Speech Part III: Why Do We Need To Leave Iraq

Most of his reasoning is the old tired and counterintuitive dissembling of the left. A few new winners stand out however. We need to leave Iraq because:







1. By doing so, we will be able to achieve energy security. What possible set of facts supports the claim that leaving Iraq improves our energy security? That said, when Iran dominates the Shia south where the bulk of the oil is located and Iraq's only port city through which its oil can be transported, it would seem to make our energy situation exponentially more precarious.

2. What possible set of facts supports the idea that pulling out of Iraq on a timetable improves our national security. To the contrary, it provides the gift of all gifts to our existential security threat today, Iran - a country Obama does not seem to have the vision to recognize as a threat.

3. We need to send one to two combat brigades to Afghanistan. This one fails any test of logic. We have 140,000 forming providing support for 15+ combat brigades in Iraq today. 15 brgades in Iraq minus 2 brigades transferred to Afghanistan equals how many brigades left in Iraq? We know from his inability to count the number of states in the U.S. that Obama has trouble with numbers, and this is no different. Apparently his answer is 0.

4. There has been no political progress. Obama, who explictly endorsed the bench marks on video in Feb., 2007 as the measure for political progress in Iraq, has now forgotten them. And he mindnumbingly repeats the mantra that only by leaving can we force political progress in Iraq. Amb. Crocker was clear several months ago that leaving will do nothing to force political progrees but will have the opposite effect. Further, the amazing political progress in Iraq, something even the NYT has acknowledged, has only come about because we are in Iraq providing security.

5. We need to pay for Obama's new cradle to grave socialist programs. This is hardly a peace dividend. The cost to undue the harm that Obama may well do to our nation in his dealings with both Iraq and Iran portends to make the savings to be had from withdrawing now like chump change.