Obama’s overseas trip appears to have led to at least one major shift in emphasis in his foreign policy thinking. In a Newsweek interview, he was asked how big a force he would leave behind in Iraq to conduct counter-terrorism operations and to train up Iraqi forces. Here’s how he replied:
“I do think that’s entirely conditions-based. It’s hard to anticipate where we may be six months from now, or a year from now, or a year and a half from now.”
To be sure, Obama has long talked about having some kind of strike force in the region. But he had previously seemed much less concerned about how US troop withdrawals would affect the conditions in Iraq; once even suggesting that preventing genocide was not a reason to keep US troops in theatre.
What Obama told Newsweek echoes what Samantha Power, an advisor to the campaign who had to step down over remarks she made about Hillary Clinton, said in March about Obama’s 16 month withdrawal plan “being a best case scenario”. It appears that with the primaries over, Obama is moving towards a more responsible position on Iraq.
Politically, the shift makes sense. The success of the surge, which Obama opposed and McCain proposed, means that Iraq is no longer seen as a lost cause and Obama’s previous position opened him up to attack from the McCain campaign about his willingness to throw away the progress that US forces have made.
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