A Foreign Policy Comment Concerning Last Night's Debate

My main complaint from last night's debate: I wish Barack Obama would have hit back harder on foreign policy. Over the last 7 years, John McCain has consistently abandoned almost all of his principles that I once admired--and his foreign policy is no exception.

In discussing foreign policy, John McCain listed past US military actions he supported--the first Gulf War and the interventions in Kosovo and Bosnia--and those he opposed--the US missions in Lebanon and Somalia. Previously, McCain has used the "Powell Doctrine" as the rationale for his decision making: "the United States should intervene militarily only when the nation's vital interests were at stake, only with decisive force and only when there was a clear goal and a defined strategy for getting out" (The NY Times, 4/4/1999).

Yet, McCain has resisted applying the Powell Doctrine to the war in Iraq. Sure, you could argue that the surge represents the use of overwhelming force, but 5 years later he still has yet to articulate either a clear goal or an exit strategy. Vaguely pontificating about "victory" and "honor" just doesn't cut it. Worse, McCain and the Republicans continue to belittle Obama for advocating an exit strategy.

And while McCain rails against an exit strategy, the fact is the next president likely won't have a choice. The Iraqi government continues to press for a US withdrawal by the end of 2011 as part of a new Status of Forces Agreement (The NY Times, 9/18/2008). The end of 2011 may sound like a long ways off now, but it's less than two years from the time the next president takes office—not much longer really than the 16 months advocated by Obama. Without a Status of Forces Agreement, our UN mandate to intervene in Iraq will expire on December 31, 2008. That's right, we will likely have to accept a time line or leave at the end of this calendar year. Ultimately, McCain's blustering has little bearing on reality. And he dares to call others naïve?

The Republicans continue to hound us with bravado and machismo, trying to convince us that having an exit strategy is “giving up” or “cutting and running.” The American people need to hear the truth. Our troops have done us proud. The Iraqi government is telling us they can take it from here. It's time for our country to begin planning a responsible withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq.