Obama Iraq Speech

Guide Note: Illinois Senator and 2008 Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama delivered an address, entitled "The World Beyond Iraq," on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. Obama's speech emphasized the need to end the war and "confront the emerging national security challenges of the 21st Century."

Fast Facts:

1. Title: The World Beyond Iraq
2. Date: March 19, 2008
3. Location: Fayetteville Technical Community College (NC)
4. Location chosen for its proximity to Fort Bragg, home of the 82d Airborne Division and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command
5. Obama introduced and endorsed by Paul "Bud" Bucha, a former Army captain awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970 for heroism in Vietnam
6. In the speech, Obama promised that, as president, he would end the war in Iraq, removing 1 to 2 combat brigades per month

Quotes:

1. History will catalog the reasons why we waged a war that didn't need to be fought, but two stand out. In 2002, when the fateful decisions about Iraq were made, there was a President for whom ideology overrode pragmatism, and there were too many politicians in Washington who spent too little time reading the intelligence reports, and too much time reading public opinion.
2. When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of success. Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.

• Also try: Barack Obama | Barack Obama On the Issues

Obama Iraq Speech News and Information

• Official Obama Campaign Site: Obama Delivers Speech on 5th Anniversary of Iraq War (March 19, 2008)
• Official Obama Campaign Site: "A World Beyond Iraq" Fact Sheet (PDF) (March 19, 2008)  
• Official Obama Campaign Site: Obama on the Issues: War in Iraq
• Newsweek: Obama: Trust me to end the war (March 19, 2008)  
• The Press Association: Obama: US less safe since Iraq war (March 19, 2008)
• FOXNews.com: Obama's Opposition to Iraq War, Once Firm, Sometimes Has Wavered (March 19, 2008)
• The Boston Globe: Obama criticizes his rivals on Iraq (March 19, 2008)  
• Video: Obama Discusses Iraq and McCain in Fayetteville, NC (Time: 2:30)
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Obama Iraq Speech Excerpts

• The following passages are taken from "The World Beyond Iraq", Barack Obama's March 19, 2008 address on the Iraq War.

• On the "lesson of Iraq":
  • History will catalog the reasons why we waged a war that didn't need to be fought, but two stand out. In 2002, when the fateful decisions about Iraq were made, there was a President for whom ideology overrode pragmatism, and there were too many politicians in Washington who spent too little time reading the intelligence reports, and too much time reading public opinion. The lesson of Iraq is that when we are making decisions about matters as grave as war, we need a policy rooted in reason and facts, not ideology and politics.

• On John McCain:
  • If you believe we are fighting the right war, then the problems we face are purely tactical in nature. That is what Senator McCain wants to discuss – tactics. What he and the Administration have failed to present is an overarching strategy: how the war in Iraq enhances our long-term security, or will in the future. That's why this Administration cannot answer the simple question posed by Senator John Warner in hearings last year: Are we safer because of this war? And that is why Senator McCain can argue – as he did last year – that we couldn't leave Iraq because violence was up, and then argue this year that we can't leave Iraq because violence is down.

• • When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of success. Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.

• On his plan to end the war:
  • So when I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden– as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.

• • 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. After this redeployment, we will leave enough troops in Iraq to guard our embassy and diplomats, and a counter-terrorism force to strike al Qaeda if it forms a base that the Iraqis cannot destroy.

• On American leadership:
  • This must be the election when we stand up and say that we will serve them as well as they have served us. This must be the election when America comes together behind a common purpose on behalf of our security and our values. That is what we do as Americans. It's how we founded a republic based on freedom, and faced down fascism. It's how we defended democracy through a Cold War, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the darkest corners of the world.

• • When America leads with principle and pragmatism, hope can triumph over fear. It is time, once again, for America to lead.

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