The Swamp
 
The Swamp
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Posted July 24, 2008 10:47 AM
The Swamp

by Frank James

Members of the peace movement who saw Sen. Barack Obama as their candidate, presumably after the ardently anti-war Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul exited the primaries, don't like what they're hearing from the senator from Illinois and are issuing a warning: Don't assume you've got our votes.

This from a press release issued by Kevin Zeese, executive director of Voters for Peace, whose board includes the nation's most famous anti-war activist, Cindy Sheehan.

As Senator Obama continues his tour of Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe many peace voters are warning him: Do not take out vote for granted. In a petition, signed by thousands in one day, peace voters are expressing concern about his plans for Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Kuwait.

Obama's recent promise to escalate the number of troops in Afghanistan with 7,000 additional troops. Currently, 60,000 NATO troops are in Afghanistan, 36,000 of them U.S. soldiers. The Soviets and British learned this is a country not easily tamed by foreign troops. Afghanistan could become a more difficult quagmire than Iraq.

On Iraq, Americans who want to see that war ended may be disappointed by the details of his Iraq strategy. While his rhetoric is "end the war" and withdraw combat troops within 16 months, the details of his plan are: redeploying of combat troops to Kuwait to serve a strike force in Iraq, as well is to Afghanistan; and leave a "residual force," whose size Obama has not identified, but aids have said could be 30,000 to 80,000 troops in Iraq. Obama has defined the mission of this force broadly telling Larry King they will: fight terrorists and al Qaeda, protect U.S. bases and interests and train Iraqis. When Obama is asked about private security contractors, like the infamous Blackwater, he told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now that he would not remove these 140,000 private troops from Iraq. Adding it together Obama would leave as many as 225,000 troops and mercenaries in Iraq after his withdrawal is complete.

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