Has Barack Obama changed position on Iraq?

Barack Obama today attempted to put down suggestions that he is flip-flopping on his plans for Iraq with a major foreign policy speech in Washington. Did he succeed? Here, we track the Illinois senator's position on the conflict throughout the past year - in his own words. Take a look and tell us what you think.

September 12 2007

"We should enter into talks with the Iraqi government to discuss the process of our drawdown. We must get out strategically and carefully, removing troops from secure areas first, and keeping troops in more volatile areas until later. But our drawdown should proceed at a steady pace of one or two brigades each month. If we start now, all of our combat brigades should be out of Iraq by the end of next year.

"We will need to retain some forces in Iraq and the region. We'll continue to strike at al Qaeda in Iraq. We'll protect our forces as they leave, and we will continue to protect U.S. diplomats and facilities. If - but only if - Iraq makes political progress and their security forces are not sectarian, we should continue to train and equip those forces."

September 26 2007, NBC/MSNBC debate in New Hampshire

"If there are still large troop presences in when I take office, then the first thing I will do is call together the Joint Chiefs of Staff and initiate a phased redeployment. We've got to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. But military personnel indicate we can get one brigade to two brigades out per month.

"I would immediately begin that process. We would get combat troops out of Iraq. The only troops that would remain would be those that have to protect U.S. bases and U.S. civilians, as well as to engage in counterterrorism activities in Iraq. ... I believe that we should have all our troops out by 2013, but I don't want to make promises not knowing what the situation's going to be three or four years out. "

January 31 2007, CNN debate in Los Angeles

"It is important for us to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. I will end this war. We will not have a permanent occupation and permanent bases in Iraq. ... It is important for us to set a date. Because if we are going to send a signal t the Iraqis that we are serious, and prompt the Shia, Sunni, & Kurds to actually come together & negotiate, they have to have clarity about how serious we are."

"... We've got to be very clear about what our mission is. We would make sure that our embassies & our civilians are protected; that we've got to care for Iraqi civilians, including the four million displaced already. We already have a humanitarian crisis, an we have not taken those responsibilities seriously. We need a strike force that can take out potential terrorist bases that get set up in Iraq."

July 3 2008, Fargo, North Dakota

"I have always said I would listen to commanders on the ground. I have always said the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed and when I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies."

Later that same day

"Apparently I wasn’t clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq. I have said throughout this campaign that this war was ill conceived, that it was a strategic blunder and that it needs to come to an end. I’ve also said that I will be deliberate and careful in how we got out, that I would bring our troops home in the pace of one to two brigades per month and that that pace we would have our combat troops out in 16 months. That position has not changed.

"... So we are going to go visit Iraq, I want to have conversations with commanders on the ground, Iraqi officials. When I come back, that information will obviously inform how we shape our plans moving forward. For example, does it - what is the current training situation and how many residual troops might be needed in order to train Iraqis to stand up both the army and the police?"

July 15 2008

"I will give our military a new mission on my first day in office: ending this war. Let me be clear: we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – one year after Iraqi Security Forces will be prepared to stand up; two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, we’ll keep a residual force to perform specific missions in Iraq: targeting any remnants of al Qaeda; protecting our service members and diplomats; and training and supporting Iraq’s Security Forces, so long as the Iraqis make political progress.

"We will make tactical adjustments as we implement this strategy – that is what any responsible Commander-in-Chief must do. As I have consistently said, I will consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government. We will redeploy from secure areas first and volatile areas later."

Comments

[David Allen]

Many in the US are beginning to have grave doubts about this man. He is going to Iraq next. If on his return he has significantly altered his point of view or shifted his position towards the centre again, something he has been doing often recently, I believe he may find himself in serious trouble with an increasingly sceptical US electorate.

[J Gary Fox]

Thank you for tracking the twists and turns of Obama positions.

Great job!

Our American public can't seem to keep track of what a Pol states as a position and the reversal of a position.

“The thing that impressed Winston in looking back was that the speaker had switched from one line to the other actually in midsentence, not only without a pause, but without even breaking the syntax” ….

Oceania was at war with Eastasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.”

Orwell 1984

When I posted an anti-Obama comment with an Orwellian phrase on Huffington Post ... I was banned from further postings.

I'm waiting for the security forces to arrive and take me to room 101.

Gary

Princeton Junction, NJ

[haralambos]

Did he have a position? A stance maybe

[haralambos]

"I will consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government. We will redeploy from secure areas first and volatile areas later."

And what happens when the secure areas become volatile again? May I suggest calling it Operation Yo-Yo?

[haralambos]

Apologies for hogging this site - I promise this will be my last post on this subject - strip away the jargon and what I think B.O. is proposing is an orderly retreat. Let me assure you that Muslims do not hold "turn the other cheek" in high esteem - the group is culturally very revengeful - show fear and turn your back and it will incite even the moderats (if such a thing actually exists)

What happened to CHANGE? Talking to the U.S. commanders on the ground (as oppossed to the air?) is what everybody else is doing isn't it? Well duh we already know what they think - just get them on the phone already! What he needs to do is talk to the other side, surely.

[attila]

Another interesting article by Hannah Strange. Well researched, confirms what other people have been saying with evidence.

Fact is, we can't put a public date on withdrawal. Guiliani got one thing right, when you name your targets publically, you're asking for it if you don't acheive (or change your mind about) them.

Who don't politicians suggest Kurd independence? At least then any withdrawal from Southern Iraq can save partial face.

[Maria Coleman]

So what? Will Barack Obama's speeches make any difference should he or, for that matter, any other presidential candidate eventually take office? Iraq is a mess, created by the Bush administration and words alone will never bring back the dead or ease the suffering of those afflicted there. The US's preoccupation on the superficialities of their candidates is a dangerous way to vote. Ms Strange, please use your skills to report substance, rather than playing to your readers' prejudices.

[Kent]

If you thought from the beginning that the troops were just going to pack up and march out of Iraq then maybe what Obama is saying now is a flip-flop to you, but if you actually thought about it, then you would realize that it was going to take some time and that there were going to have to be some "refinements" along the way. Some common sense should apply. What would you do if it was your decision? (Staying in Iraq indefinitely is not an option - they don't want us, we can't afford it.)

[Maggie]

This is great. On July 3, Obama said: "I have always said I would listen to commanders on the ground." But based on what I can see here, he never actually said that before this date. Oh well...

[haralambos]

B.O. is clueless - isn't he? It's buzz word compliant and as he tries to boil the ocean and make it sound like blue-sky thinking while his ideas circle the the drain

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

I don't know.

But it is a deep comment on American politics that you can ask this question.

I can't help thinking of the plight of voters. Yeats' line comes to mind:

"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold"

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

It's not just Obama by any means.

It's all of them. It's the lamentable American system.

There's the Hillary of the early White House years, efficiently addressing important problems, and there's the Hillary of the Pennsylvania primary, posing as a hillbilly and throwing cheap insults.

There's the John McCain of 2000, attacking the nasty influence of the Religious Right in American politics, and there's the John McCain of 2008 calling the atrocious John Haggee a religious advisor.

There's the unpleasant Romney of 2008 preaching to us about religious liberty and the Romney of 2008, delberately, repeatedly referring to Obama as Osama.

There's the "compassionate conservative" and "Christian" George Bush who put to death a record number of prisoners on Texas's death row and is responsible for about a million deaths as president.

On and on it goes. It's simply a bizarre circus, a parody of honest politics, making the choice represented by the franchise almost meaningless.

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Oh, by the way, Obama is ahead by 8 points in one recent poll.

[Bob Evans]

Mr. Obama said he wants to "....prompt the Shia, Sunni, & Kurds to actually come together & negotiate."

Does anything else better illustrate his ignorance of the history of this region and its culture. Worse, it is telling of his inability to grasp world affairs?

[Rawlings]

What is the change in Obama's commitment? I hope we are not having an issue with English Language. Anyway, afterall he a Professor while some of us are merely college students practising Journalism or simply JEALOUSY!

[Rawlings]

His commitment on Iraq has never changed a bit reading through his comments. I wonder why critics cannot be sincere in their criticisms of Obama. Absolutely nothing has changed rather he should be commended for providing the Bush administration with platforms in which their recent decisions are based e.g. diplomacy in Iran and withdrawing troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.

[William Hagerbaumer]

This is interesting. I fail to see any evolution in his thoughts on the subject. He seems to be saying the same thing over and over in somewhat different words, but basically he has not changed one iota.

[David Amurun]

I just wonder why people complain when leaders change their position on issues...Obama has not changed his position on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, he's only added that..He will consult with military leaders in Iraq..that is not a change in position..

[Rachel W]

I'm obviously missing something because his position, to me, sounds like it remains the same over time. I'm also unclear why his recent statement that he would consult with commanders on the ground has caused such an uprising in the media, given that he's said this same thing before in different venues during the primaries.

In each of the postings of his quote above (and one below), he still says he will end the war; he still says that he will do that by removing about 1 - 2 brigades. In September 2007, when he proposed bringing the troops home using this slow and measured withdrawal he doesn't provide the 16 month estimation, but he does say by end of the next year, which in fact comes out to be 16 months (if in fact the withdrawal had started in Sept. 2007). And while he doesn't say it in EVERY speech he has also said in more than a few speeches over the last year or so that he would include feedback from commanders on the ground and make tactical adjustments. He still advocates being as "careful getting out as we were careless getting in." So, I'm curious, what exactly was the major shift in his position that have cause the heightened media coverage?

But two more things:
1) Correction: I noticed you have January 2007 for the N. H. debate, but a transcript on the ABC News site lists it as being on January 5, 2008.

2) You forgot to include the following two quotes as well:

FROM November 2007 Meet The Press: (Discussing a withdrawal from Iraq and how many would be left to guard embassy, etc.):
Well, you know, I’m going to leave that up to the, the commanders on the ground, because my job is to set a clear mission for them. Their job is to then tell me, “This is what we need to achieve that mission.”

FROM Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: The World Beyond Iraq March 2008 -
"In order to end this war responsibly, I will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We can responsibly remove 1 to 2 combat brigades each month. If we start with the number of brigades we have in Iraq today, we can remove all of them 16 months. Let me be clear: ending this war is not going to be easy. There will be dangers involved. We will have to make tactical adjustments, listening to our commanders on the ground, to ensure that our interests in a stable Iraq are met, and to make sure that our troops are secure."

Thanks for posting these quotes they are helpful.

Rachel W
New Jersey

[Mario]

Common people, give the man a break.. Everyone makes mistakes.. A lot of people keep concluding that this man is going to ruin the world just because he is part black and maybe a former Muslim. Listen to what Mccain says.. Mccain doesn't sound any smarter than Obama.. I believe people who are democrats should not decide to vote Republican just because Obama makes mistakes in his speeches and because he is part black and a former Muslim.. I think the world and the U.S. should accept change.

[anyone]

silly,
you need to the know the facts before promising anything. SOunds like a quality a president should have. CHeck out the 180 Mccain did and hardly got any coverage. Let me link you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daO8e4y-RHU

[Michael Sheridan]

I rather doubt if people who post accusations of inconstancy on Obama's part based on his statements on Iraq actually understand how seriously they damage the credibility of their anti-Obama position in so doing. Instead, they reveal only that they are determined to oppose him, no matter what he says. For his statements as quoted above to have been any more consistent, he'd have had to repeat himself word for word every time.

Kudos to Haralambos, however, for his post presenting some criticism with thought behind it.

It's all moot now, though. Maliki wants us out and has endorsed Obama's plan (while being careful not to specifically endorse Obama, a major diplomatic no-no). Now that even the White House is talking about withdrawal on a "time horizon," McCain will have to find another issue to campaign on. I'd wish him luck, but I'm an Obama supporter so I'll just wish him well.

[sinna mani]

Cut and run would be as bad as going in foolishly. What is needed an understanding with the Iraqi government as to the earliest point at which Americans can conveniently depart. The Iraqi government seem to suggest that sixteen months would be sufficient. So Obama has been right all along. Now it is upto the Iraqis. The recent return of the Sunnis to government augurs well for this process. Thanks to the secular nature of the Iraqi people the country has not proved to be a fertile ground for Al quaeda.

[J. Brooks Waddington]

Obama seems to keep the same position, and I agree. The war was wrong from the start. We invaded a sovereign nation that had not attacked us first. America does not do that. Now we are there and both human life and Democracy are precious. We need to exit in a responsible manner that preserves both. Obama sees how expensive this war is. He sees the stress this war is putting on our service men women and families. Our country is hurting. What happened to " Walk softly but carry a big stick. Was it not 19 Saudis trained with Saudi money led by a Saudi Prince.

[Harvey]

David, Gary, Haralambos, did you actually read the article on which you commented? I found Obama's position on Iraq to be remarkably consistent in the quotes in the article. He's pretty articulate, so he doesn't use exactly the same words all the time--maybe that's what confused you. Obama understands the difference between strategy and tactics, which the current administration and John McCain apparently haven't up to this point. Because of the pressure Obama is applying for redeploying troops from Iraq, even the Bush administration is starting to see the light.