For most of the day, the talk of the town has been about former Barack Obama foreign policy advisor Samantha Power calling New York Sen. Hillary Clinton a monster; and while Power's words were poorly chosen, they were just words.
Unfortunately, Power's childish insult of the former First Lady pales in comparison to what she said about Barack Obama's Iraq policy.
In an interview on the BBC program Hard Talk, Samantha Power said, "What he's [Barack Obama] actually said, after meeting with the generals and meeting with intelligence professionals, is that you - at best case scenario - will be able to withdraw one to two combat brigades each month. That's what they're telling him. He will revisit it when he becomes president."
These words seem completely different from what's on Barack Obama.com:
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
Obama's plan, according to his website, is to "immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq." Obama's plan is to "remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months."
But his (former) senior foreign policy advisor, Samantha Power, has said that at "best case scenario" he'll remove one to two brigades a month from Iraq. And, on top of that, Power said, "He will, of course, not rely on some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator."
So which is it?
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has said, "He [Obama] has been and will continue to be crystal clear with the American people that if and when he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in - as he said, the time frame would be about 16 months at the most where you withdraw troops. There should be no confusion about that with absolute clarity."
Well I'm confused and I'm unclear about Barack Obama's Iraq policy.
Yes, Obama will bring one or two brigades home from Iraq.
No, Obama won't rely on some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator.
Maybe so, Obama will - at best case scenario - be able to withdraw one to two combat brigades each month.
Which is it?