EYE ON THE BALL?

While Bin Laden Urges Followers To Fight In Iraq, Clinton And Obama Deny That It Is A Key Terrorist Battleground

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Late Last Week, Osama Bin Laden Urged His Followers To Go To Iraq And Fight Alongside Their Fellow Terrorists:

Bin Laden Urged His Followers To Fight In Iraq, Which He Terms "The Nearest Field Of Jihad Today." "Bin Laden added that Palestinians who are unable to fight in the 'land of Al-Quds' a Muslim reference to Jerusalem should join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq. 'The nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine is the Iraqi field,' he said." (Maamoun Youssef, "Purported New Osama Bin Laden Audio Urges Holy War To Liberate Palestinian Territories," The Associated Press, 3/20/08)

"[Bin Laden] Also Called On The People Of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan And Saudi Arabia To 'Help In Support Of Their Mujahedeen Brothers In Iraq, Which Is The Greatest Opportunity And The Biggest Task.'" (Maamoun Youssef, "Purported New Osama Bin Laden Audio Urges Holy War To Liberate Palestinian Territories," The Associated Press, 3/20/08)

Despite Bin Laden's Message, Obama Says Iraq Is Not The Central Front In The War On Terror, And That The U.S. Should Be On The "Right Battlefield" In Afghanistan:

Last Week, Obama Questioned The Extent Of The Threat Posed By Al-Qaeda In Iraq. Obama: "[President Bush] keeps on conflating al Qaeda with all that's going on inside of Iraq. In fact, Iraq is a majority Shia country that is violently opposed to al Qaeda. The Sunnis inside of Iraq are now opposed to al Qaeda. There's no doubt that al Qaeda would try to get another foothold in th ere. But to the extent that we've brought Sunnis in and got them to buy into the central government, we can start making some progress. ... So the notion that al Qaeda would run roughshod over Iraq is just not correct." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 3/20/08)

Obama Said "The Central Front In The War Against Terror Is Not Iraq, And It Never Was." Obama: "Above all, the war in Iraq has emboldened al Qaeda, whose recruitment has jumped and whose leadership enjoys a safe haven in Pakistan, a thousand miles from Iraq. The central front in the war against terror is not Iraq, and it never was." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)

Obama: "As president, I want us to fight on the right battlefield. And what that means is getting out of Iraq and refocusing our attention on the war that can be won in Afghanistan." (Sen. Barack Obama, AFL-CIO Democrat Presidential Candidate Forum, Chicago, IL, 8/7/07)
Sen. Clinton Says Iraq Has Been A Distraction From Fighting The War On Terror In Afghanistan:

Sen. Clinton Said "Part Of The Reason That We Didn't Go After Bin Laden As Aggressively As We Should Have Is We Were Distracted By A War Of Choice." Sen. Clinton: "But I think one of the things that's been left out is Iraq. And part of the reason that we neglected Afghanistan, part of the reason that we didn't go after bin Laden as aggressively as we should have is we were distracted by a war of choice." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, ABC Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester, NH, 1/5/08)

Sen. Clinton: "[W]e took our eye off the ball. I mean, we diverted resources and attention to Iraq and we didn't finish the job. That, to me, is one of the great missed opportunities and I don't understand why that happened, but it did." (CBS' "The Early Show," 9/11/06)

Sen. Clinton: "Then there is our work in Afghanistan, yet another casualty of the war in Iraq. When I first visited there in 2003, I was greeted by a soldier who said: 'Welcome to the forgotten frontlines in the war against terror.'" (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The Temple For The Performing Arts, Des Moines, IA, 7/10/07)

Sen. Clinton Says She Would Redeploy Troops From Iraq To Afghanistan. Sen. Clinton: "Clinton has blamed the Bush administration for diverting troops to Iraq, and she has pledged to redeploy to Afghanistan the troops she would withdraw from Iraq." (Editorial, "Don't Forget Afghanistan," [New York] Newsday, 8/18/07)

Military Commanders Have Warned About The Threat Of Al-Qaeda In Iraq And Its Ties To The International Al-Qaeda Network:

Gen. David Petraeus, The Top Military Commander In Iraq, Said Al-Qaeda Was "The Enemy Closest To The Sled" In That Country. Sky News' Adam Boulton: "I mean who is the enemy now as far as you are concerned?" Gen. Petraeus: "Well, the enemy closest to the sled, if you will, for us is still al-Qaeda - Iraq. Now that does include other Sunni insurgent groups such as Ansar al-Sunna. Certainly a lot of what used to be referred to as the Sunni resistance in many cases has actually turned against al-Qaeda because of the indiscriminate violence and because of an extremist ideology that Sunni Arabs in Iraq really can't embrace." (Gen. David Petraeus, Interview With Sky News, Baghdad, Iraq, 3/5/08)

Gen. Petraeus: "And again, the upper echelon, the top few percent of al-Qaeda - Iraq is, indeed, foreign and has links...direct links with al-Qaeda's senior leadership in the Afghan-Pakistan area. They indeed have sway, if you will, beyond just the borders of Iraq. [They] do talk to facilitators in Syria and in other countries in the Levant and source countries in North Africa and the Gulf states." (Gen. David Petraeus, Interview With Sky News, Baghdad, Iraq, 3/5/08)

Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, Multi-National Force - Iraq Spokesman: "There has been significant progress against al-Qaeda over the last several years. And most recently, in the past year, we have made a significant effort to disrupt and put more pressure, not only on their networks, but geographically on places where they have sought to operate from: their safe havens and operating bases. And we continue to keep that pressure up because, as you heard from Ayman al-Zawahiri's statement this past weekend, this is an organization that is perpetuating and dependent upon a continued focus on violence." (Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, Press Conference, 3/5/08)

Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, Commanding General Multinational Division, Baghdad And 1st Cavalry Division: "Now, I want to be absolutely clear that while we have seen significant progress during our tour here, we are very mindful that it is fragile and that there is very tough work ahead. Al Qaeda is down, but it is by no means out. It remains a very dangerous enemy that maintains the ability to conduct attacks against the innocent, and we must continue to pursue them, to attack their networks even as they're trying to regenerate." (Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, Press Conference, 12/17/07)




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New York Times’ Caucus Blog: Obama Aide: Neither Candidate Ready For 3 A.M. Call - By Kate Phillips

… and you know most Americans want John McCain in the White House to answer that phone …

From the NY Times.com.

As Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares for an afternoon news conference here in Washington, where she is to be surrounded by “military officers,” her campaign has put up a YouTube moment that you can bet will be replayed over and over.

In it, Susan Rice, a foreign policy adviser to Senator Barack Obama, discusses the foreign policy credentials of both Democrats against the tableau of Mrs. Clinton’s 3 a.m. phone call advertisement about who would be best prepared for an international crisis. (While your children are safely asleep.)

“Clinton hasn’t had to answer the phone at
three o’clock in the morning and yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being
ready,'’ Ms. Rice said. “They’re both not ready to have that 3 a.m. phone
call.”

(The exit polls from Tuesday in Ohio and Texas showed that voters favored her more as commander-in-chief. Perhaps her 3 a.m. ad broadcast only in Texas but widely publicized helped to sway voters. Mr. Obama quickly released a response ad last week.)

Captain’s Quarters Blog: The New York Times Seems To Have Missed This

Both Democratic presidential candidates keep harping on two topics in the campaign. They want to end lobbyist influence in Washington, and they want to keep foreigners from unfair competition in American markets. The latter message has generated considerable enthusiasm, and blaming lobbyists has always been a winning political message.

However, both need to explain how they managed to break those same promises as Senators (via Instapundit):

Both Democratic presidential candidates, who promise to curb the influence of corporate lobbyists in Washington, helped enact narrowly tailored tax breaks sought by major campaign contributors.

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign has accepted $54,350 from members of a law firm that in 2006 lobbied him to introduce a tax provision for a Japanese drug company with operations in Illinois, according to public records and interviews. The government estimates the provision, which became law in December 2006, will cost the treasury $800,000.

In 2002, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced legislation at the request of Rienzi & Sons, a Queens, N.Y., food importer, according to company president Michael Rienzi. The provision, which became law in December 2004, required the government to refund tens of thousands of dollars in duty charged on imported tomato products, Rienzi told USA TODAY.

Rienzi gave $110,000 to committees set up to support Clinton's 2000 Senate race, records show. Rienzi family members contributed an additional $52,800 to her campaigns since 2000. Michael Rienzi also said he donated to Bill Clinton's presidential foundation, but he declined to say how much.

Got that? They both received tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists in order to make it easier for foreigners to compete in American markets. Hillary's change made it tougher on American tomato farmers to compete against the Japanese, while Obama's allowed the Japanese to expand their competition against American pharmaceuticals, although at least it created jobs in this country.

How did they manage to do that? A little-known rule in Congress allows members to create exceptions in tariff laws every two years, individually, somewhat akin to earmarks. Basically, this process exists to sell Congressional influence to the highest bidder. Lobbyists can make a fortune for their clients with a little down payment to a single Senator or Representative.

One presidential candidate refuses to introduce tariff suspensions, considering them dirty politics. John McCain has what he calls a "standing policy" that rejects private-relief bills or any bills intended for the purposes of any one person. I'd say that Obama and Hillary talk the talk, but only McCain walks the walk. I guess the New York Times missed this in their haste to tie McCain to lobbyist interventions.

OBAMA: CLINTON COPYCAT?

From AZ GOP National Committeeman

BRUCE ASH:

Short On Substance, Obama Borrows Clinton Economic Proposals, Calls For Billions In New Spending
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Yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Unveiled Billions More In Spending During An Economic Policy Address:

Obama: "In the end, this economic agenda won't just require new money. ... We'll be called upon to take part in shared sacrifice and shared prosperity." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Economic Policy, Janesville, WI, 2/13/08)

Obama Proposed A National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank At A Cost Of $60 Billion Over Ten Years. Obama: "I'm proposing a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten years." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Economic Policy, Janesville, WI, 2/13/08)

Visit The Obama Spend-O-Meter To View His New Spending Total Of Over $874 Billion: www.obamaspendometer.com

Obama Is Quickly Catching Up To Sen. Clinton's Total Spending; Visit The Clinton Spend-O-Meter To View Her Spending Total Of Over $888 Billion: www.clintonspendometer.com

The Clinton Campaign Observed That Obama's Infrastructure Bank And Other Economic Ideas Proposed Yesterday Weren't So New - Sen. Clinton Had Offered Them Months Ago:

Neera Tanden, Policy Director For The Clinton Campaign, Charged Obama With Introducing Sen. Clinton's Economic Ideas As His Own. Neera Tanden: "Those covering Senator Obama's economic speech in Wisconsin ... could be forgiven if it felt like deja vu all over again. Voters may ask themselves that if Senator Obama cannot produce his own ideas on the campaign trail, how will he solve new problems as President? Senator Obama's only 'new' ideas were ones that Senator Clinton proposed months ago ..." (Ben Smith, "Claiming Theft," The Politico's "Ben Smith's Blog," www.politico.com, 2/13/08)

Gene Sperling, Senior Economic Adviser To The Clinton Campaign: "Well the irony of it ... was that Senator Obama seemed like he wanted to cling incredibly specifically to Senator Clinton's ideas. You know nobody owns words but just on her ... theme shared prosperity, he went after that theme some. She put out a very explicit five million jobs through green energy efficiency goal. He chose exactly to do the five million goal. And then the national infrastructure idea which Senator Dodd had proposed and Senator Clinton but not Senator Obama had proposed ... he kind of came out with." (Bloomberg News' "Money & Politics," 2/13/08)

Sperling: "He was trying to show he had a bit more detail, but he seemed to be leaning a lot more heavily on Senator Clinton's detail than I probably would have recommended had I been advising him." (Bloomberg News' "Money & Politics," 2/13/08)

"Obama's Plan Includes ... Creating An Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank That Will Invest $60 Billion Over 10 Years, Generating Nearly 2 Million New Jobs, He Estimates. Clinton's Campaign Said She Proposed An Infrastructure Bank On Aug. 8, 2007." (Abdon M. Pallasch, "Obama Takes Hit On Economic Policy," Chicago Sun-Times, 2/14/08)

FLASHBACK: On August 2, 2007, Sen. Clinton Signed On As A Co-Sponsor Of The National Infrastructure Bank Act Of 2007. (S. 1926, Introduced 8/1/07)

NOTE: Obama Was Not A Co-Sponsor. (S. 1926, Introduced 8/1/07)

"Obama Also Pledged To Invest $150 Billion Over 10 Years To Establish A Green Energy Sector That Will Create Up To 5 Million Jobs. Clinton's Campaign Said She Proposed To Create 5 Million New Green Jobs In November." (Abdon M. Pallasch, "Obama Takes Hit On Economic Policy," Chicago Sun-Times, 2/14/08)

This Isn't The First Time Obama Has Copied Sen. Clinton's Ideas; He Had That Habit In The Senate As Well:

FLASHBACK: In The Senate, Obama Repeatedly "Lifted Ideas And Text From Clinton's Bills And Repackaged Them As His Own." "Obama has liberally lifted ideas and text from Clinton's bills and repackaged them as his own when filing legislation in the Senate, a review of congressional rec ords show. [In April 2007] Obama unveiled a sweeping measure to help veterans, titled 'Homes for Heroes' - similar to Clinton's older plan, 'Heroes at Home.' ... Obama has cribbed ideas from Clinton's bills on everything from voting rights to improving medical treatment, homeland security to helping veterans." (Ian Bishop, "Barack's Bills Hint Of Clinton Pinchin'," New York Post, 4/16/07)

"Political Pros Say Obama's Pilfering Of Clinton's Measures Is A Way To Puff Up His Slim Résumé As Voters Begin Scrutinizing The Presidential Mettle Of The Contenders." (Ian Bishop, "Barack's Bills Hint Of Clinton Pinchin'," New York Post, 4/16/07)
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