{"id":3485,"date":"2008-07-22T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2008-07-22T20:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/07\/wilson-other-n-m-vets-attack-obamas-iraq-stance\/"},"modified":"2008-07-22T14:58:00","modified_gmt":"2008-07-22T20:58:00","slug":"wilson-other-n-m-vets-attack-obamas-iraq-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/07\/wilson-other-n-m-vets-attack-obamas-iraq-stance\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilson, other N.M. vets attack Obama’s Iraq stance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> and other New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> veterans joined today in the assault on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama\u2019s<\/a> stance on the Iraq War a day after the candidate visited the war-torn nation. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Republican representative from New Mexico<\/st1:state> joined U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback<\/a>, R-Kan., and a staffer for Republican presidential candidate John McCain\u2019s<\/a> campaign on a conference call today to discuss Obama\u2019s trip to Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and positions on the 2007 troop surge and a timeline for withdrawal.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

After visiting Iraq<\/st1:country-region>, Obama said today in Jordan<\/st1:country-region> that Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> needs a \u201cpolitical solution\u201d<\/a> and held to his plan to withdraw combat troops within 16 months of becoming president. While Obama said as recently as Monday that he still opposes the troop surge<\/a> despite a sharp drop in violence in Iraq, today he said the surge is one of many factors<\/a> that have improved the situation in that war-torn nation.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said during the conference call that Obama\u2019s shifting statements prove that he isn\u2019t leading.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has his finger in the wind trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing,\u201d she said, adding that he\u2019s \u201cfrighteningly inexperienced\u201d on foreign-policy issues. Wilson<\/st1:city> said if Obama had his way, American troops would have already left Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHe would have withdrawn from Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and left it a mess,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 He would have chosen failure over the success we\u2019ve had today, and I find that completely perplexing.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said in an interview that Obama \u201chas frequently said that deploying 30,000 more of our troops into Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> could reduce violence — because of the extraordinary work of our men and women in uniform. But the stated goal of the surge was to create breathing room to allow for political reconciliation. Senator Obama has been consistently critical that the surge has not achieved its stated goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Violence has decreased in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> to the point that emboldened Iraqi government officials have begun calling for a timetable for withdrawal of American combat forces. The Iraqi government and Bush Administration agreed earlier this week to set a \u201cgeneral time horizon\u201d for further withdrawals of American forces.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Some skeptics now say the surge worked<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Brownback said during today\u2019s call that, though he and others were skeptical of the surge initially, the strong push for it by McCain helped convince the Bush Administration and others to proceed.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Now \u201cwe\u2019re looking at a situation where we can substantially draw down troops in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>,\u201d Brownback said. \u201c\u2026 Thank goodness for John McCain and the surge, because without that, we\u2019d be looking at defeat today.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

While she said today that the surge has led to success, Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> didn\u2019t speak during the call about her initial opposition to the surge. She was one of the first Republicans in January 2007 to break with the Bush Administration and oppose the surge<\/a>, saying at the time that the United States<\/st1:country-region> needed to shift its focus from stopping sectarian violence to ensuring that Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> doesn\u2019t become a safe haven for al-Qaida or a source of instability in the region.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Following a shift in strategy, Wilson<\/st1:city> supported increasing forces in the Sunni-dominated regions of Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> to deny al-Qaida safe haven there.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This is the second McCain campaign conference call in which Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has participated. In June, she was on a call to criticize Obama<\/a> for suggesting that supporters of Hillary Clinton<\/a> should \u201cget over\u201d her loss and back the Democratic presidential nominee. Today, CNN is calling Wilson a \u201cleading surrogate\u201d<\/a> for McCain.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

N.M. veterans for McCain<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McCain\u2019s campaign today rolled out its New Mexico Veterans for John McCain group at an event in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. Co-chairing the group will be retired Air Force Cols. Barry J. Howard and Penny Bailey.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

At the event, Scott Witt, a Las Crucen and retired Navy captain, echoed Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s criticism of Obama. He said the progress Obama has seen in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> is \u201conly possible because of the surge, a strategy he voted against, campaigned against and railed against.\u201d He said Obama was wrong on the surge and is wrong on withdrawal.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWithdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground,\u201d Witt said. \u201cWhether that happens in 12 months or 16 months or 24 months, our troops must come home in victory and with Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Former Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca responded to such criticism, in a statement released by the Obama campaign, by saying that McCain\u2019s \u201cplan to keep our troops in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> indefinitely is not what the American people are looking for.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And he hit McCain on veteran\u2019s issues, saying he hasn\u2019t supported veterans because he has \u201cvoted against increased funding for health-care and mental-health services for veterans and opposed legislation for a new G.I. Bill despite its support from every major veteran\u2019s organization in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In a news release<\/a>, the Democratic Party of New Mexico highlighted McCain\u2019s low ratings from the Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of American and Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and Afghanistan Veterans of America. All three groups give Obama higher rankings.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cMcCain can\u2019t hide from his actions. His votes against better health-care benefits and educational benefits are out of touch with New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>,\u201d Josh Geise, executive director of the Democratic Party, said in the release. \u201cHonoring veterans is a part of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s heritage, and McCain\u2019s actions show he\u2019s out of step with the values of voters in this state.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In a release from the McCain campaign, Bailey, co-chair of the McCain group, said that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cVeterans back John McCain because he always backs us,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s working to improve veterans\u2019 health care or supporting the families who support them, Senator McCain clearly understands that this country is forever indebted to those who served, and who still serve today, in our nation\u2019s armed forces. While Barack Obama has played politics with troop funding, John McCain continues to fight for our men and women in uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Witt served in the Air Force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson and other New Mexico veterans joined today in the assault on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama\u2019s stance on the Iraq War a day after the candidate visited the war-torn nation. The Republican representative from New Mexico joined U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and a staffer for Republican presidential candidate John McCain\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}