My November, 2008 prediction:
It's all over in Iraq, the war has been won, the Status of Forces Agreement has been accepted. But for [Washington] Post editors it can't be a victory. For Post editors it's denial. Time to postpone the victory.
The Bush administration worked patiently and tirelessly to negotiate the new agreement, which will have the effect of removing Iraq from United Nations supervision on Jan. 1. Having all but destroyed his presidency through mismanagement of the war, Mr. Bush can now fairly argue as he leaves office that his successor will inherit an Iraqi mission that has been stabilized both militarily and politically. That's not the same thing as the "victory" Mr. Bush has often spoken of; Iraq could still unravel if its leaders or the Obama administration act unwisely.
Of course, this is Mr. Bush we're talking about, so it's not victory. But it's close, so close that Post editors feel obliged to warn that Obama could still throw a wrench in it. Perhaps a little patience would be in order.
There is now, however, a workable road map for winding down the U.S. troop presence in the country and for consolidating the new political system. Mr. Obama will receive this framework from the president and the Iraqi government he has spent the last two years campaigning against. Though we don't expect him to say so, Mr. Obama is fortunate that he was wrong, both about the surge and about the capacity of Iraq's leaders.
It can be safely admitted now. Post editors concede that Obama was dead wrong about the surge, and wrong about Iraq's leaders. But what was abysmally poor judgment during the campaign is good fortune now that the election is over. The media propped this guy up all through the campaign, and apparently they're not done yet. I'll boldly predict that among Obama's first presidential accomplishments will be the victory in Iraq that eluded President bush for the last five years.
Well, it's a little bit later than I expected, but as Jake Tapper reports, a couple of nights ago on Larry King Live Joe Biden took credit for victory in Iraq on Obama's behalf.
On Larry King Live last night, Vice President Joe Biden said Iraq "could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government."
[...]
At the briefing today, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Biden calling Iraq one of the great potential achievements of the Obama administration given that Biden had previously advocated that the country should be divided into thirds and split among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis, and then-Sen. Obama opposing the surge of US troops that many experts argue helped bring stability that allowed the reconciliation process to continue.
In fact, in January 2007 then-Sen. Obama said that he was "not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence. In fact, I think it will do the reverse."
Gibbs said the achievement was "putting what was broken back together and getting our troops home, which we intend to do in August of this year."
A reporter pointed out that the Status of Forces Agreement to bring troops home was signed before the president took office.
Gibbs called that agreement "something I think that the political pressure that the president, as a then-candidate, helped to bring about."
My emphasis above. This comes by way of Ace of Spades, Mudville Gazette, and Instapundit.
Gee, I judge the man by the content of his character, as well as the character of the people he freely elects to surround himself with.
Posted by: CaptDMO | February 13, 2010 at 07:14 AM