Senator Obama Calls for a 'Diplomatic Surge'

Obama Calls for a 'Diplomatic Surge'

by Christopher HassTuesday, April 08, 2008 at 07:20 PM

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today. As a member of the committee, Senator Obama directly questioned both men on the situation in Iraq, and he spoke about the need to look beyond the Bush administration's current policy of open-ended military engagement.

The Associated Press reported:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a "diplomatic surge" including talks with US foe Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq.

The Illinois Senator battling Hillary Clinton for his party's nomination called for more pressure on the Iraqi government to embrace political reconciliation and a regional "diplomatic surge that includes Iran."

"We should be talking to them as well," Obama told the top US General in Iraq David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker.

"I do not believe we are going to be able to stabilize the situation without that" said Obama, adding that a plan for US troop withdrawals was needed to force Iraqi factions to work together.

"I think that increased pressure in a measured way, in my mind, and this is where we disagree, includes a timetable for withdrawal. Nobody is asking for a precipitous withdrawal."

… "We all have the greatest interest in seeing a successful resolution to Iraq," Obama told Petraeus and Crocker.

"I continue to believe that the original decision to go into Iraq was a massive strategic blunder, that the two problems you pointed out, Al-Qaeda in Iraq and increased Iranian influence in the region are a direct result of that original decision."
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Last month in Charleston, West Virginia, Barack spoke about the far-reaching costs of the war and emphasized that as President, he will begin the process of responsibly withdrawing our troops from Iraq.

- http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGBcCF