Where Does Obama Stand On Ending Iraq & Oversight?

The debate around Iraq has been vague, general and shallow, essentially iterating over and over that neither Obama nor Clinton would immediately withdraw all troops. Don't wanna look too dovish!

So how is it Barack Obama will end the occuption?  The corpus of my diary. And not only that, he's already worked on legislation for oversight of these robbers--the defense contractors who've looted a trillion or so--in Iraq.

Known for her aggressive style and lack of deference for authority, independent journalist-progressive Amy Goodman quickly questioned Barack Obama about the occupation after an economic speech at Cooper Union in NYC:

AMY GOODMAN: Senator Obama, quick question: 70 percent of Iraqis say they want the US to withdraw completely; why don’t you call for a total withdrawal?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I do, except for our embassy. I call for amnesty and protecting our civilian contractors there.

AMY GOODMAN: You’ve said a residual force—

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, but—

AMY GOODMAN: —which means [inaudible] thousands [inaudible].

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, no. I mean, I don’t think that you’ve read exactly what I’ve said. What I said is that we do need to have a strike force in the region. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in Iraq; it could be in Kuwait or other places. But we do have to have some presence in order to not only protect them, but also potentially to protect their territorial integrity.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you call for a ban on the private military contractors like Blackwater?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I’ve actually—I’m the one who sponsored the bill that called for the investigation of Blackwater in [inaudible], so—

AMY GOODMAN: But would you support the Sanders one now?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Here’s the problem: we have 140,000 private contractors right there, so unless we want to replace all of or a big chunk of those with US troops, we can’t draw down the contractors faster than we can draw down our troops. So what I want to do is draw—I want them out in the same way that we make sure that we draw out our own combat troops. Alright? I mean, I—

AMY GOODMAN: Not a ban?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I don’t want to replace those contractors with more US troops, because we don’t have them, alright? But this was a speech about the economy.

AMY GOODMAN: The war is costing $3 trillion, according to Stiglitz.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: That’s what—I know, which I made a speech about last week. Thank you.

The Sandersbill is here.  

"Contractors." Now Blackwater, Halliburton, Bechtel: these names are infamous, but there are many contractors in Iraq.  Their business is booming in the midst of a recession.  Why?  Because the national vault has been left unlocked and they were given a few wheelbarrows to help themselves with.  Free market my ass!

Constitutional Law Scholar-Obama Goes on Attack Against Blackwater

Last October in Iowa, Obama explained his stance on the defense contractors.  Characterizing the organization as conducting in Iraq "with reckless disregard to Iraqi life", Senator Obama went on to state, "Most contractors [in Iraq] act as if the law doesn't apply to them," he said.

"Under my plan, if contractors break the law, they will be prosecuted."

Bin-go.

Worth pointing out that the only two cases of contractors charged were two Americans with only American victims--child pornography and attempted rape.

His House Bill counterpart was introduced that very month, and would give the FBI oversight of U.S.-Iraq contractors. It would:

--require F.B.I. investigation into allegations of wrongdoing.
--create "theater investigative units"--field offices in the war zone for the F.B.I.
--the Justice Department would have to report to Congress on "on the number of complaints, investigations and criminal cases brought against contractors"

Corruption, say hello to oversight.  Transparency!  Binding procedure! Obama also introduced an amendment to 2007's Defense Dept. Authorization Bill--which passed in the Senate--that would require Congressional oversight on the number of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, their compensation and cost, which companies are awarded contracts and the <strong.process</strong> by which contractors' deaths are tracked among government agencies.

And of course, Obama says much the same about ending the war and bringing the troops home on his website, targeting a 16 month countdown for the withdrawl of all combat troops, leaving a residual force to guard the American embassy. No permanent bases.

I for one am no critic of Sanders but I do not see the replacement of contractors with more soldiers as a good thing.  The military is perilously strained, private contractors have been "running amok".  But if contractors are watched, their behavior will change.  The onus seems to be on effective oversight.  Even a sociopath knows when he can no longer act with immunity.  Message is: carte blanche is over.