Marking the conclusion of the war at a military base that’s seen more than 200 deaths from fighting in Iraq, Obama"Obama never tried to declare victory. It was a war that he opposed from the start, inherited as president and is now bringing to a close, leaving behind an Iraq still struggling.
But he sought to pronounce a noble end to a fight that has cost nearly 4,500 American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives.
“The war in Iraq will soon belong to history, and your service belongs to the ages,” he said, applauding their “extraordinary achievement.”
All U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq Dec. 31, though Obama" has pledged the U.S. will continue civilian assistance for Iraq as it faces an uncertain future in a volatile region of the world. Even as majorities in the U.S. public favor ending the war, some Republicans have criticized the withdrawal, arguing that Obama">Obama is leaving behind an unstable Iraq that could hurt U.S. interests and fall subject to influence from neighboring Iran.
The video’s subtle political message appeared two-fold. On one hand, it emphasizes Obama’s string of foreign policy successes, from the ending of the controversial war to the killing of Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders*.
It also could be interpreted as an oblique comparison between the Democrat’s integrity and the perceived weaknesses of his two main two Republican rivals: Mitt Romney’s penchant to flip flop and Newt Gingrich’s reputation for erratic behavior.
Obama’s team has begun slamming the Republican candidates, while the President did some quiet campaigning this week with interviews broadcast in military towns that just happen to be in swing states.
Obama stressed that, despite the war’s flaws, he was immensely grateful for the soldiers’ bravery, a theme that continues in the web video.
“Promises Kept” looks back to November 2004, when Obama — then an Illinois state senator — said he would have voted against authorizing force in Iraq had he been in Washington.
It then jumps ahead to the campaign trail in March 2008 when Obama vows to pull out American forces from Iraq once he is commander in chief.
The video then concludes with Obama’s 2010 declaration that combat operations in Iraq were over, and then this week’s emotional Ft. Bragg speech.
The piece does not, however, include Obama’s 2002 remarks in which he called the conflict a “dumb war.”
The President did not completely back down from those comments when he was asked this week if his view of the war had changed.
"I think history will judge the original decision to go into Iraq,” said Obama as he stood alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He then stressed that the conflict’s reward — a self-governing Iraq — has “enormous potential.”
Obama’s defense secretary, Leon Panetta, also said this week that the sacrifice of American troops "has not been in vain."
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