Barack Obama begins his world tour with photo ops in Afghanistan where he made three stops in Kabul, Bagram Air Base, and Jalalabad. We have the photos and videos.
His first stop was Kabul Afghanistan. Obama later stopped briefly at Jalalabad airfield in eastern Afghanistan where he got out of the airplane, waved and chatted with a small gathering of troops. Initial reports are that the reception from U.S. troops was chilly.
Obama was accompanied by two lesser-known Senators, Jack Reed (Democrat – Rhode Island) and Chuck Hagel (Republican – Nebraska). They are part of a very large contingency from the Obama campaign and media which is touring the region in a bid to establish Obama’s foreign policy credentials on the eve of the U.S. elections.
The contingency made a secret stop in Kuwait as reported earlier by the media.
Barack Obama’s appearances in Iraq and Afghanistan are sensitive topics for the governments of these nations. Obama earlier refused to support the troop surge in Iraq but proposed withdrawal instead, a position that most analysts beleive would have left Iraq in a catastrophic bloodbath were he calling the shots. Now he says the surge is successful, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remains unimpressed with the Senator. Obama has showered criticism on the democratically-elected government of Iraq.
Obama has also heavily criticized the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, one of the few foreign leaders to ever speak to a joint session of Congress in U.S. history. He has been dismissive of Karzai’s efforts in Afghanistan, accusing him of “not getting out of the bunker” despite several near-miss assassination attempts, while he has baffled the locals by flip-flopping on troop surges. Obama now supports a U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan.
Update: A liberal German magazine had errantly reported that the Iraqi Prime Minister supports Obama timetable for withdrawal. Those earlier reports proved to be false as clarified late on July 19th by al-Maliki.
Video of Obama in Afghanistan below.
Obama in Afghanistan (Video)
July 19th, 2008 at 10:38 am
How can a few hour stop in a couple of airbases in afghanistan be even useful? A real exploratory trip would take 4-8 days minimum with tours outside of the airfield and meeting with locals our lower ranking troops as well as the politicians and military commanders. I don’t get what the Obama campaign is selling to us. Does this mean he is now magically annointed as “experienced”? It really boggles my mind why this campaign will do to get a photo op. Already its disingenous.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Brian: As opposed to McCain’s tour of Iraq last year? The one where spoke of how “calm” it was, as he was escorted by 100 soldiers?
July 19th, 2008 at 11:58 am
KW.
McCain has been there more than once and certainly didnt do it out of response to amyone pressuring him to do so.
Would you like to guess how many are protecting Obama right now ?
Does your comment somehow try to imply that Obama has even one ounce of experience and understanding of the workings or horrors of war compared to McCain ?
Does McCains years of service on the hill and in Nam not kick the crap out of Obamas little PR stunt here ?
Please.
This whole episode/excursion of his is an insult to anyone with half a brain.
I dont think anyone with even the most limited imagination cant predict what speeches will be derived of this trip when he gets back.
I can almost gaurantee that after this he will become the self anointed official know it all on middle eastern policy .
He already has his mind made up as to what his critisizms will be, hes just looking for a few names and places to attach it all to.
A year ago I said that Obama was a decent man and that my drycleaner was a decent man also.
But neither is qualified to run our country.
I no longer think Obama is a decent man.
His obvious attempts to paint himself as something he is not has gotten so out of hand to the point where I am now disgusted with him.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Yes Brian, what Obama really needs to go is to go to a local market with a full military escort, then come back and claim that it is safe for Americans to walk around in the streets and that the U.S. commander goes around in an un-armored truck. Only then will he be able to match the foreign policy experience of John McCain.
Oh wait….he’ll also need Joe Lieberman to correct him when he demonstrates a lack of understanding of the differences of Sunni and Shia.
And then, maybe someone can tell him that Czechoslovakia ceased to be a nation many years ago.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Oh Lord, here’s yet another example of Obama demonstrating that he knows nothing about foreign policy.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/19/maliki-i-support-obamas-withdrawal-timetable/
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a German magazine that he supports Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.
Can you believe it? Obama getting support from al-Maliki? Obviously this demonstrates how dangerous he will be for the world, and especially our mission in Iraq.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Hey Bob !
You forgot one really important thing that Maliki said in that article.
“Al-Maliki told the magazine that his comments were “by no means an election endorsement.â€?
McCain said in the same article;
“Apparently, he’s confident enough that he won’t find any facts that might change his opinion or alter his strategy. Remarkable,â€? McCain said, criticizing his rival for initially opposing the troop surge in Iraq.
“Today we know that he was wrong,� he said.
By the way, now Obama is saying 16 months ?
safter going from “immediatley” to “60 days”, to “responsable withdrwal” and at this point now its a year and a half ?
Sheez, if he does get elected , by that time at this rate Obama will be saying we could be in Iraq for the next hundred years !
And your first paragraph in #4 is just plain stupid.
My answer to that is posted in #3
“Oh wait….he’ll also need Joe Lieberman to correct him when he demonstrates a lack of understanding of the differences of Sunni and Shia.”
Thats not even close to being as stupid as Obama was for thnking that the joint cheifs are responsable for calling the shots in Iraq. Bonehead didnt even know that the chain of command and protocol for issuing a new mission goes to the CENTCOM.
Its one thing to get Muslim tribes mixed up as in the case with McCain , but its another thing to be running for president and not even know what dept. does what.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Micky, nobody said anything about an election endorsement, but the bottom line is that the Prime Minister of Iraq has endorsed Obama’s plan for withdrawal. He could have come out and said “Obama is wrong” but instead he said “Obama is right”
So again, after months of hearing about Obama’s lack of “experience” in foreign affairs, his plan has received the endorsement of PM al-Maliki while McCain is left having to scramble, effectively having his major campaign theme cut off at the knees.
BTW, I’m assuming you heard that the WH press office accidentally sent out the Reuters of al-Maliki’s story to its press list (it was supposed to be forwarded to an internal mailing list).
This is a huge day in this campaign.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Actually he didn’t, Bob. He said what you would expect a politician to stay when appealing to his own public. The important thing for you to understand (and support if you are a compassionate, pro-American person) is that American military bases will be in Iraq for 100 years. And that’s a wonderful thing which the Prime Minister who Obama continually insults will never publicly endorse.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Obama has been saying sixteen months since 2006. That has never changed one bit. and I am surprised that the “report” mentioned an annonymous report of a “chilly” reception by troops in Easten Afghanistan (waiting for the tape!) instead of the rock star welcome he got in Kuwait. Standing ovations, long lines to shake hands and get an autograph, group photos, hugs, huge smiles. And that is from the DOD video, not the MSM. So now McCain is left as odd man out on Iraqi withdrawal and the troops are wildly cheering Obama. Sounds about right.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
“chilly” ??? response from our troops … go to youtube you morons !! Looks like PLENTY of cheers, smiles and woo-hoos hand shakes for Senator Obama. Our brave soliders know a REAL leader when they see one- OBAMA !! You too afraid to show the clip- awaiting video ?? right
July 19th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Is it my imagination or are all the obama supporters robotic in their unthoughtful resonses? He seems to have a real cult of personality encircling him that has all the hallmarks of yet a new fascism as they don’t discuss, consider, or accept any critique. Its all them versus the republicans with no thought or individuality inbetween. You can have liberal fascism just as you can have conservative fascism. I would say that is a second worry regarding obama. He may have a tight campaign crew for all the wrong reasons.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Yep… and this “team” is gonna take back the White House !! Power in numbers- Thank God
July 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Brian, while their may be some “strong” willed Obama supporters, I think it is poor reporting to say Obama got a “chilly” response by the soldiers. It’s almost as bad (well not nearly) as reporting stories that Obama was raised Muslim. You must understand that if you want to attack from the right what you say should be true as well, is it “facism” to repudiate false, slanderous reports or to make them up to support your own candidate and party???
July 19th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Bob;
“Micky, nobody said anything about an election endorsement,”
Bob;
“Can you believe it? Obama getting support from al-Maliki? ”
If he did give him an endorsement that would be support Bob.
Also, you need to get up to date on your facts because as far back as Friday the Bush administration has been saying the same thing but they use the term “time horizon”.
“President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed Friday to include a “general time horizonâ€? for U.S. troop withdrawals as part of a pending bilateral security agreement, the White House said.”
“The U.N. mandate under which coalition forces operate in Iraq expires at the end of this year. The two governments have been negotiating a bilateral agreement under which U.S. forces would remain in Iraq; the withdrawal timeline would be a part of that deal, the White House said.”
So, as you can see, this has been in the works for a while now.
Obama is just using semantics to piggy back on something in the works for a while now and make himself look as if he has some new novel idea by agreeing to a withdrawl timeline of 16 months on “Saturday”.
Bush already had this conversation with Maliki for months now and as late as “Friday”!
So, Obama is a day late and a dollar short (or some “change”)
And really, Bob,Ed, get real.
McCain has been involved in policy in Iraq for years now. Most notably when he had his discussion with Rumsfeld suggesting that he put in more troops. Rumsfeld blew that idea off and as we can see now McCain was right.
And Obama has been wrong.
Had anyone followed Obamas advice there would be an awful lot of dead Iraqis right now.
He even introduced legislation, titled The Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, to remove all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008.
How does that back up you saying that Obama has always said 16 months ?
So I dont know wgere you’re getting your info from Ed, but its wrong.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
BTW….I would hardly consider Senator Reed or Hagel as “lesser known”. They are both prominent Senators. Senator Reed was a US Army Ranger and Senator Hagel was a decorated Vietnam War Vet
July 19th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Had anyone followed Obamas advice there would be an awful lot of dead Iraqis right now.
NO had anyone followed Obamas advice – WE WOULDNT BE IN THIS WAR-PERIOD !! We would have fought the REAL war from the start ( and actually stayed there and won ) in Afganistan
July 19th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Is that the war he voted against before he voted to fund it? Or the troop surge he was against before he supported it? Humor us, dear Theresa, and explain which of the many advices we are suppose to follow.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Afghanistan not Iraq..is what the lady said .Yes Obama is a politician so is Mccain, but cmon Mccain you gotta do better than the Repub talking points.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
“NO had anyone followed Obamas advice – WE WOULDNT BE IN THIS WAR-PERIOD !! ‘
Obviously Theresa is blind to the fact that Saddam was killing Iraqis for decades at a rate far greater than what we have seen since 2003.
Opening a new front in Iraq was one of the strategies and purposes of going into Iraq Theresa.
Try some multi dimensional thinking.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Also, you need to get up to date on your facts because as far back as Friday the Bush administration has been saying the same thing but they use the term “time horizon�.
Yes Micky, after years of saying that setting a timetable for withdrawal would only aid the terrorists, they now support a “time horizon” for withdrawal.
And, al-Maliki supports the Obama plan for withdrawal. Which in Bush-speak means that al-Maliki supports the terrorists.
It’s kind of sad actually reading this thread, the GOP-bots don’t have anything left in their arsenal to argue, so it’s nothing but childish name-calling (or in the case of the Obama got a “chilly” reception – outright lies).
July 19th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I mean, you guys call this Obama-Fascism and the Messiah and things about his followers…then Mccain and micky fail to acknowledge what other are saying because it strays from their own viewpoint (or I guess what you as “facts”- so caught up in political mindedness that you fail to see reality- the same thing you are accusing Obama supporters of)
But OK Micky, clear this up for me
The US invade Iraq to….what…? I would like to benefit some of your multi-faceted- multi dimensional thinking
July 19th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Obviously Theresa is blind to the fact that Saddam was killing Iraqis for decades at a rate far greater than what we have seen since 2003.
Opening a new front in Iraq was one of the strategies and purposes of going into Iraq Theresa.
Try some multi dimensional thinking.
Micky if the Iraqis want us to leave, don’t you think we ought to leave? John McCain did in 2004 you know…
You know it’s interesting – we keep hearing how Obama is “inexperienced” yet it seems every day lately we hear stories of the GOP adopting Obama’s position as its own.
We had McCain flip-flop on sending more troops to Afghanistan. We had news that the Bush administration would send a top envoy to negotiate with Iran and we even had the news that the U.S. would open an interest section inside of Tehran, all after the GOP’rs blasted Obama’s suggestion that we should talk with the Iranians.
I wonder how long before we hear Micky, Brian, and MCCAIN arguing for a 16 month withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq?
July 19th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Mike, you have your logic backwards. The GOP acts then the bots defend it, they don’t think anything through.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Micky – the full statement from al-Maliki (emphasis is mine):
“Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans’ business,” he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain’s more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: “Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems.”
Who do YOU think he’s talking about? Perhaps the guy who suggested our model in Iraq could resemble that of Germany or North Korea with a long-term troop presence?
July 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
But it should resemble the German, Japanese and Korean model, Bob. Tell us why on earth you would disagree?