Obama - Time to stop 'coddling' Iraq

Amid intense speculation about whether he will run for president, Sen. Barack Obama on Monday used the spotlight to showcase his strategy for the war in Iraq, excoriating the Bush administration for its "misguided" war and describing a solution that includes dialogue with hostile nations in the region.

In his speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Illinois Democrat said the U.S. should end its "coddling" of the Iraqi government by beginning a reduction of troops in the next four to six months and pressuring Iraqis to work out agreements among their warring factions.

"Our troops can help suppress the violence, but they cannot solve its root causes," Obama told members of the council. "And all the troops in the world won't be able to force Shia, Sunni, and Kurd to sit down at a table, resolve their differences, and forge a lasting peace."

Offering a few new specifics, Obama said he thinks Iraq should convene a regional conference that includes Syria and Iran, two countries with which the U.S. does not currently have diplomatic relations. He also said that, as the U.S. redistributes troops around the Middle East, some should be deployed to Afghanistan and northern Iraq.

Substantively, Obama's talk to the council was not markedly different from the one he gave there a year ago. He echoed many of the themes of that speech--as well as from his highly publicized new book, "The Audacity of Hope." Politically, the plan he embraced positions him alongside many centrist Democrats in Congress who are calling for a slow and careful withdrawal of troops, rather than a quick exit or a buildup of military personnel in Iraq.

But while the speech was mostly the same, the environment in which he delivered it was radically different. Voters registered dissatisfaction with the Iraq war this month, handing Congress over to Democrats for a fresh start. Obama will serve on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee as part of the new majority.

Perhaps of greater significance to the crowd at the Chicago Hilton on Monday is Obama's status as a possible presidential contender in 2008. The buzz surrounding his possible candidacy drew a crowd and the speech attracted national media and was followed by an interview with CNN. The council sold 1,400 tickets, which meant organizers had to move it from the previously scheduled ballroom to a larger one.

"If we'd put this thing on for another senator, we could have held it in a phone booth," said Dick Longworth, a former Tribune reporter and senior fellow at the council, a non-partisan organization devoted to educating people about foreign affairs.

A year ago, Obama asked for a platform at the council to talk about a phased withdrawal from Iraq, much of it by the end of 2006. Obama revised that time frame on Monday, saying he thinks the drawdown should begin within six months.

Though much of this speech was devoted to criticizing the administration and the war, Obama said he thinks it's possible to "salvage an acceptable outcome."

He suggests a redeployment of troops and stepped-up efforts to train Iraqi security forces, and says the U.S. should link economic aid to Iraq with "measurable progress on reducing sectarian violence."

Obama indirectly criticized a suggestion by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that the U.S. increase its troop levels in Iraq, saying there is little reason to believe that adding thousands of troops would achieve the desired results.

Afterward, Obama said he doesn't think that proposals to partition Iraq into three separate regions--Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni--would work if it were a U.S. initiative. Also, Obama said he would not support a proposal to reinstate the draft.

Although the speech did not cover a lot of new ground, some in the audience said that made it more credible.

"What makes his speech even stronger in his case is the consistency and continuity from what he said a year ago," said Marshall Bouton, president of the council. "He's not a Johnny-come-lately to this debate. It locates him along with a lot of others, embracing a measured, thoughtful, multifaceted approach."