Sen. Obama on 'Face the Nation'

Sen. Obama appeared on Face the Nation this past Sunday and made a few comments worthy of examination and response.

Host Bob Schieffer asked him about recent comments from former President Clinton to the effect that Sen. Obama does not have the experience in government–specifically in foreign affairs–that entitle and qualify him to be President of the United States. The Senator parried the criticism by pointing out that President Clinton had met the same criticism in his run for President in ‘92, which clearly did not end up disqualifying him for the Presidency in November of that year, at least not in the minds of the American voters.

Sen. Obama is correct to a certain extent, in that the same criticism was directed towards then-Governor Clinton is now being directed towards Sen. Obama. But time and circumstance in 1992 and now are quite different.

In the former election year the nation was just emerging from victory in the Cold War and was witnessing the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the threat it had posed since the end of World War II. In consequence, the salience of foreign affairs faded dramatically in the mind of the American voter; it was "the economy, stupid." President Clinton was able to run on the "Peace Dividend", an implicit acknowledgment by Governor Clinton that he was indeed inexperienced and untested in the sphere of foreign affairs but that it did not matter and would not matter in a decade which has been dubbed by many—accurately in my mind—a "vacation from history."

Now the vacation is over. The United States is immersed in a struggle with radical Islam of a global scale and reach, the fulcrum of which is our involvement in Iraq. We are at a point there where the direction this nation decides to take in the next year or so will make all the difference in American victory or defeat.

Beyond Iraq, it is a dangerous world we live in. We are in a struggle with al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan that has never truly received the attention from this country and the global community that it warrants. Right next door we face a possibly explosive situation with the unrest and instability in Pakistan. We have made some progress in regards to the North Korean nuclear program, but must make a great deal more. Iran, despite a disingenuous NIE from the CIA contending otherwise, continues its advance towards possession of a nuclear arsenal, a development which could have devastatingly destabilizing effects in the Middle East. China continues to grow as a global power and contender with American hegemony, while Russia continues its slow march away from democracy and back towards a Soviet-style state.

In other words, foreign affairs matter a great deal this time around, and therefore so must experience in foreign affairs and issues of national security. This is not 1992, and what was not a disqualifier then is, or at least ought to be this time around.

Specific to Iraq, Sen. Obama demonstrated marked misunderstanding of the situation and dynamics in Iraq later in that same interview. As a result of the surge, said the Senator, all America has done is essentially come "full circle. We had intolerable levels of violence and a dysfunctional government back in 2006; we saw a huge spike in violence, to horrific levels. The surge comes in and now we're back to where we were in 2006, with intolerable levels of violence and a dysfunctional Iraqi government."

That is simply not the case. Prior to and after the sharp spike in violence of which Sen. Obama spoke of, Iraq’s Sunni community was not only not participating in the political process, but they were actively supporting and participating in al-Qaeda’s and the insurgency’s war against that political process.

One year later this is not the case any longer. Because of the extra security and commitment provided by our surge in Iraq, Iraq’s Sunnis have had been given the cover to turn against al-Qaeda and re-enter Iraqi politics. Sunnis have indeed used this cover, comprehensively rejecting al-Qaeda and fighting against it with the cooperation, assistance, and support of the American military. They are participating in the defense and security of their own villages and towns, signing up for the local police forces and the Iraqi armed forces in astonishing numbers. There is also an irrefutable development and growth in Sunni political organization and participation.

The central government in Baghdad has indeed not passed oil-sharing, de-Baathification, and other pieces of legislation we in America would like to see it enact. But this does not render the surge a failure, nor should the success of the surge ultimately be determined based on whether or not the Iraqi government passes certain pieces of legislation. When it eventually comes time for history to render its verdict the surge will have succeeded if a viable representative government is ultimately in place where the country has a legal process and forum in which national issues, questions, and debates are legitimately decided and resolved. It will not be what the Iraqis agree to and enact that will matter, it will be if they have a legal and peaceful process in place through which to deal with matters. America will have succeeded if Iraq settles its issues through politics and not the barrel of a gun.

We have made progress towards this, and this is what delineates December ‘07 from December ‘06. Sen. Obama’s inability to recognize this demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq.