Obama, McCain accuse each other of shifting on Iraq

With just 100 days until the election, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are accusing each other of shifting their positions when it comes to Iraq.

Obama accused McCain of altering his stance after the senator from Arizona said 16 months would be a "pretty good timetable" for troop withdrawal, and McCain said Obama was becoming more inline with his position -- a "conditions-based" plan for withdrawal.

In an interview with Newsweek, Obama was asked about what sort of U.S. troop presence he would keep in Iraq, now that he has talked with diplomatic and military leaders there.

Obama returned to the United States on Saturday after spending more than a week in the Middle East and Europe. Watch Obama talk about his trip abroad »

"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," he said in the interview, which was published on Saturday.

Obama has been a strong advocate of a 16-month timetable for withdrawal, while McCain has maintained that conditions on the ground must dictate plans for withdrawal. Watch McCain criticize Obama on Iraq »

In a statement issued Saturday, McCain's campaign said they welcomed Obama's shift to an "entirely conditions-based" withdrawal from Iraq.

"Today Barack Obama finally abandoned his dangerous insistence on an unconditional withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by making clear that for the foreseeable future, troop levels in Iraq will be 'entirely conditions based.' We welcome this latest shift in Senator Obama's position, but it is obvious that it was only a lack of experience and judgment that kept him from arriving at this position sooner," the campaign said.

"Now that Obama has finally met with General Petraeus, it appears that he has also come to the conclusion that troop levels in Iraq must be based on the conditions on the ground."

In an interview that aired Sunday, McCain accused Obama of basing his Iraq policy on the "political path that would have helped him get the nomination of his party."

"Now, look, Senator Obama doesn't understand. He doesn't understand what's at stake here, and he chose to take a political path that would have helped him get the nomination of his party," McCain said on ABC's "This Week."
Obama, McCain accuse each other of shifting on Iraq - CNN.com

"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,".....Obama

What did he run on again against Clinton? NO to FISA and an immediate withdrawl from Iraq with a 16 month time table? LOL..well it's nice to see that after he evaluated the situation a bit further he found he was speaking out of his ass before.:thumbsup:

Well, LOL.....lets see what the all important world opinion is on this subject...

Obama moving closer to McCain on Iraq?

US Dem. nominee Barack Obama has revealed a shift in policy on Iraq troops pullout, with the move welcomed by rival McCain's campaign.

"We're going to have to provide them [Iraqis] with logistical support, intelligence support. We're going to have to have a very capable counterterrorism strike force. We're going to have to continue to train their army and police to make them more effective," Obama said in an interview with Newsweek magazine on Saturday.

He recalled that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had in a Baghdad meeting said that Iraq was "going to need our help for some time to come".

When asked about how many troops would still need to be left behind, he said, "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."

When asked about how many troops would still need to be left behind, he said, "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."

The shift in Obama's Iraq strategy came as good news for the Republican rival John McCain, with his spokesman Tucker Bounds saying, "We welcome this latest shift in Senator Obama's position, but it is obvious that it was only a lack of experience and judgment that kept him from arriving at this position sooner."

Obama had earlier said that if elected president, he would pull out US troops from Iraq within 16 months, criticizing McCain for saying that any troop withdrawal would depend on the situation on the ground and security conditions.
Press TV - Obama moving closer to McCain on Iraq?

LOL....LIVE from Iran.:D

Have a good one!:s4: