Obama reminds voters he never supported Iraq war

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By Todd Dorman | Wednesday, July 11, 2007 |

DES MOINES — While one of his top rivals delivered a new call for ending the Iraq war Tuesday, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stuck to his familiar playbook on the issue.

No. 1, remind Iowa Democrats that he opposed the war even before Congress voted to authorize the use of force in the fall of 2002. No. 2, point out that some of his rivals voted yes, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton spoke about the war at the same time just blocks away Tuesday. Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, didn’t mention her by name, but his supporters got the message loud and clear.

“I knew it wasn’t a politically popular position,” Obama said of his opposition to the war as an Illinois state senator.

“But I believed then, and I still believe, that being a leader means that you’d better do what’s right and leave the politics aside, because there are no do-overs on an issue as important as war,” Obama said.

The line drew loud applause. Still, Iowa Democrats like Cheryl Mulvihill of Des Moines say it’s more important now to talk about the future.

“What’s happened in the past has happened in the past,” said Mulvihill, who supports Obama but does not believe his rivals’ Iraq votes are important now. “It’s just time to move forward, to get a plan together and to bring our troops home.”

Obama addressed that sentiment Tuesday during a town hall meeting in an auto shop decorated with both an American flag and a shiny black Mustang on a hoist.

Questioned by a voter about his plan for what should come next in Iraq, Obama said he wants to start a “responsible, phased redeployment” of U.S. troops.

“I still believe that we can be responsible and be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in,” Obama said. “Nobody’s talking about a precipitous withdrawal.”

Obama first would remove U.S. troops from combat positions in Iraq. Some would come home, Obama said, but some would remain in the region to provide logistical support for the Iraqi government and to fight terrorists operating in or near Iraq.

“We’re going to have to have a residual force there. Some of them can be in Kuwait, some of them can be in other portions of the region where we have allies,” Obama said.

Obama would also redeploy some U.S. forces to Afghanistan, where he contends terrorists are growing in strength and threatening neighboring Pakistan.

“We can’t afford Pakistan to fall into the hands of extremists. They already have nuclear bombs,” Obama said.

Obama wants a redoubling of diplomatic efforts in the region, starting with allies such as Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But he said the United States must also sit across the negotiating table from its enemies, Syria and Iran.

Air Force veteran Jack Navin of Des Moines wants a swift end to the U.S. involvement in Iraq, but said he appreciates Obama’s approach.

“He’s talking about a phased withdrawal, which is good, we have to do that,” Navin said. “It’s a mess over there.”

Obama also cast the war in domestic policy terms, arguing that the snowballing cost of the conflict is grabbing dollars that could be spent providing health care, improving education or training workers.

“If we can find $275 million a day to fight a war in Iraq that should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, we can find that same money to invest in the workers of the United States to make the economy stronger,” Obama said.

COST OF THE IRAQ WAR

Barack Obama said Tuesday that taxpayers in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District alone have paid $756.6 million for the Iraq war through 2007. He argues those dollars could have been used to pay for other things:

-- Health care for 238,693 adults and 339,808 children

-- Equipping 851,323 homes with renewable electricity

-- Hiring 17,489 elementary school teachers

-- Offering 134,819 scholarships for university students

-- Creating 113,832 Head Start places for children

-- Building 89 new elementary schools

-- Recruiting 18,745 public safety officers

-- Hiring 12,676 port container inspectors.

Source: The National Priorities Project

Todd Dorman can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or at todd.dorman@lee.net.