Barack *Did* Negotiate With And Confuse Iraqi Leaders

The Wash Times revives the story that caused a stir several millenia ago, telling us that Obama did urge the Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari to delay an agreement that the Bush Administration was eager to complete.  The Wash Times also confirms my theory emphasizing two contacts between Obama and Zebari; the delay was urged during a phone call in June, not at the Baghdad meeting in July as was originally reported by Taheri in the NY Post.

From the Wash Times:

EXCLUSIVE:

At the same time the Bush administration was negotiating a still elusive agreement to keep the U.S. military in Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to convince Iraqi leaders in private conversations that the president shouldn't be allowed to enact the deal without congressional approval.

Mr. Obama's conversations with the Iraqi leaders, confirmed to The Washington Times by his campaign aides, began just two weeks after he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in June and stirred controversy over the appropriateness of a White House candidate's contacts with foreign governments while the sitting president is conducting a war.

Some of the specifics of the conversations remain the subject of dispute. Iraqi leaders purported to The Times that Mr. Obama urged Baghdad to delay an agreement with Mr. Bush until next year when a new president will be in office - a charge the Democratic campaign denies.

Mr. Obama spoke June 16 to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari when he was in Washington, according to both the Iraqi Embassy in Washington and the Obama campaign. Both said the conversation was at Mr. Zebari's request and took place on the phone because Mr. Obama was traveling.

However, the two sides differ over what Mr. Obama said.

"In the conversation, the senator urged Iraq to delay the [memorandum of understanding] between Iraq and the United States until the new administration was in place," said Samir Sumaidaie, Iraq's ambassador to the United States.

He said Mr. Zebari replied that any such agreement would not bind a new administration. "The new administration will have a free hand to opt out," he said the foreign minister told Mr. Obama.

Mr. Sumaidaie did not participate in the call, he said, but stood next to Mr. Zebari during the conversation and was briefed by him immediately afterward.

The call was not recorded by either side, and Mr. Zebari did not respond to repeated telephone and e-mail messages requesting direct comment.

Key point - nobody cares. Financial meltdown blogging to resume promptly.

Comments

[kim]

The takeaway message for the Iraqis is that Obama is a duplicitous little bastard.
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[bio mom]

Very prescient people!!

What do you all think about the 30 minute network TV time buy Obama is doing days before the election? Of course he will do a "fireside chat" reassuring all that when they elect him all will be well once again. This is just his German extravaganza all over again with an American twist. CREEPY!!!! No presidential candidate has ever frightened me as much as this guy. Yet the country seems determined to elect the flyweight, phoney, affirmative action socialist in waiting. Pray for the country.

[glenda-jane]

let's hope McCain let's him know we have a President, one at a time, who is responsible for those decisions, and what he attempted to do is close to treason.

[Tom Maguire]

I for one embrace our flyweight, phony, affirmative action socialist overlords.

[Jane Whitman]

I for one embrace our flyweight, phony, affirmative action socialist overlords.

Smart move - either that or change your name to "Jane".

[matt]

If true, Obama is saying he would renege on a previous administration's written agreement, which is very serious. Can the DoJ investigate this stuff and present us with a nice dossier the day before the inauguration? Then we can begin impeachment proceedings immediately.

[matt]

by the way, Farrakahn is on video calling Obama the Messiah today....

[RichatUF]

bio mom-

CREEPY!!!!

I wish many more people would make that connection.

[Bob]

If you want to know who's voting for Obama listen to this:

Howard Stern Show

This is too funny!

[glenda-jane]

welcome, comrade--Tom-Jane

[kim]

Matt, that's why he can't produce a birth certificate, he came out of a well!
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[Tom Maguire]

Smart move - either that or change your name to "Jane".

I have already prepared the press release:

Jane Maguire has been blogging at the widely-derided "Jane's One Minute" since his her work-release in 2003.

[Jane Whitman]

Perfect! Now if you will just agree to be president of the island.

[kim]

I like 'Just a Jane Minute'.
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[kim]

Or 'Just us Janus Minutus'.
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[Neo]

What if new President Tom Maguire wants a different deal ?

[kim]

Easy, he's gonna have to negotiate through several layers of Janes with Sistani.
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[Ronald Reagan]

Don't make me come back from the dead to straighten you fools out. The Republican party is going to lose this election-you've forgotten what you're about and have instead turned into some kind of weird neo-Nazi Klan group with out of touch ideas and values.

[Sbw Whitman Jane]

Does this mean I have to become me again?

[Jane Whitman]

WOW - "neo-Nazi Klan" members. That's pretty harsh. Let me guess, you are a kos kid?

[Rickter]

More Alinsky tactics! Rick Moran at AT, LUN

[Cecil Turner]

Most folks know Klan is Democrat. How's your old Kleagle doin' btw?

[Robert Byrd]

Well Son;

as the King Kleagle of Ku Klux Klan of West Virginia, Ah resemble that there remahk.....'ceptin a'hm a dimmicrat....

funny how the Left always seems to accuse the right of the basest motives when engaging in those actions themselves....jest sayin', y'know.....

[xerocky]

Treason. Plain and simple.
The arrogance is off putting.

Who would vote for this guy and why? I haven't heard reason one yet.

[Tom Maguire]

weird neo-Nazi Klan group

There has to be a redundancy in there somewhere. Or are there rival normal neo-Nazi Klan groups?

The arrogance is off putting.

I was shocked today. A reliable anti-war lib was telling me he is still not sold on Obama because he finds the guy to be vague and evasive. Obama is ducking questions rather than leading right now, which my friend found annoying.

Not that he is loving McCain, but still.

[glenda waggoner]

I will sleep better because of that, Tom.
niters!

[Joe G]

That's great, can't he be charged with treason?

[sophy]

Welcome to our game world, my friend asks me to buy some Metin2 yang .