Obama Claims Credit for Iraq Win

RUSH: Yesterday we played a sound bite of Obama, a White House ceremony praising the troops as they left the cities in Iraq and it really offended my sensibilities because Barack Obama and the Democrat Party were one huge obstacle our military had to overcome in achieving victory in Iraq. These people had to secure defeat. Joe Biden was damning the surge, these people were impugning David Petraeus, calling him a liar before he had even testified. And there’s Obama up there taking credit for — see, I told you, the Democrats are not going to saddle themselves with defeat here. They’re going to claim credit for the win. A stand-up guy would have Bush there yesterday if there was going to be some celebration ceremony honoring the accomplishment of the troops in the surge, it was his policy. Of course, these people are not stand-up people. Bush wasn’t there and wasn’t invited. But they’re not gonna saddle themselves with defeat. I told you this. Anyway, when we get back in the monologue segment of the next hour, there’s some audio sound bites on this that you’ve got to hear, we put together in chronological order, which will make you as enraged as am I.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s President Obama. This is the sound bite we played yesterday. It’s yesterday afternoon at the White House, bagging about the success of the surge in Iraq. So much about this offended me, and I’m sure will again right now when we play it.

OBAMA, JUNE 30, 2008: Those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history.

RUSH: Stop the tape. Recue this. We’re going to have to do start stop. I’m not going to be able to contain myself throughout this whole thing. ‘Those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history.’ Um… In fact, I think it was Barack Obama who predicted a civil war if we stayed; that it was a civil war and that we had to get out for that reason. Play number five. Play sound bite number five. This is Obama, February 10th of 2007.

OBAMA FEBRUARY 10, 2007: It’s time to admit that no amount of American lives will resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else’s civil war.

FOLLOWERS: Yeeeeeeeeah!

OBAMA FEBRUARY 10, 2007: That’s why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home March of 2008. Let the Iraqis know, letting the Iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last best hope to pressure the Sunni and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

RUSH: And he was dead wrong about it all! It was the surge that brought them to the table. In fact Mookie and his boys, Muqtada al-Sadr, rubbed everybody the wrong way. The terrorists themselves united the Shi’a and the Sunni — and had we not been there to help them there wouldn’t have been nay unity and there would have been civil war! Barack Obama’s policies would have given us the ‘abyss of civil war,’ and now here he is claiming credit for having avoided that. Let’s go to the top of audio sound bite number seven again.

OBAMA, JUNE 30, 2008: Those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history. Finally, the very fact that Iraqis are celebrating this day is a testament to the courage, the capability, and commitment of every single American who has served in Iraq.

RUSH: Stop the tape. This is Barack Obama who led from the United States Senate his party into doing everything he could to ensure the defeat of the US military. This man did not believe what General Petraeus was going to say about how the surge was working. Petraeus came up, and they accused him of lying about the success of it, being in league with President Bush to lie to the Senate and the American people and the House about this. They said there was no way they could win. Harry Reid said, ‘This war is lost.’ This war is over. No way we could win! And here is President Obama, ‘The very fact that Iraqis…’ These are the people that were accusing our military men of rape! John Murtha was believing the charges of rape in Haditha. This party, the Democrat Party, was doing everything it could to impugn and dishonor members of the US military!

Even going so far, ladies and gentlemen — you remember — as to impugn the fact that they even joined! ‘Oh, yeah. They’re not patriots,’ said a few Democrats. ‘They’re not patriots. No, no, no. They’re there ’cause they got no other options. Why, the economy stinks!’ They said in 2003, 2004, ‘The economy stinks. They got no educational opportunities. They come from hayseed hick little towns in the South, and in the Southwest. The Army is their only option.’ It was all lies, but even if — let’s just say for a moment that — it was true. Why impugn people for joining less than 1% of our population will volunteer, at time of war to join the US military? These people need to be honored. I don’t care what their motivation for joining. But the Democrat Party couldn’t bring itself to do that and now our president, who led that party in opposition to victory, is up there trying to claim credit for something that he has no right to. He didn’t do one thing! Well, he voted for the spending. There are little contradictory things here. That’s because they didn’t want to be responsible for the defeat that they were trying to secure. Here’s more of this bite.

OBAMA, JUNE 30, 2008: That’s worth applauding. (applause) Through tour after tour of duty our troops have overcome every obstacle —

RUSH: Including you!

OBAMA, JUNE 30, 2008: — to extend this precious opportunity to the Iraqi people. We’ve made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq; and everyone who served there, both in uniform as well as our civilians, uh, deserves our thanks.

RUSH: Cut five again, please. Cut five.

OBAMA, FEBRUARY 10, 2007: It’s time to admit that no amount of American lives will resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else’s civil war.

RUSH: Stop the tape. So you just heard him say we’ve made progress, important progress in supporting ‘a sovereign, stable, self-reliant Iraq.’ You didn’t support a sovereign, stable, self-reliant Iraq. You said it was impossible, Mr. President! You said it couldn’t happen. You said it was a civil war. You said the surge wouldn’t work! Now the piece de resistance. A flashback to April 27th, 2007, Columbia, South Carolina. At Congressman Jim Clyburn’s annual fish fry, Senator Joe Biden, was mingling with audience members, an unidentified audience member says, ‘When he,’ the president, ‘When he kills that bill on the 1st what’s going to be the next version of the bill that y’all are going to send him?’

BIDEN, APRIL 27, 2007: The first thing I’m gonna do when he vetoes that bill is I’m gonna take out that money for those MRAPS [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected], those off — those vehicles that will save lives over there. The idea we’re not… I gotta kid going over there! The idea we’re not building these new Humvees with the V-shaped thing is just crap, man! Kids are dying that don’t have to die. And the second thing is, we’re going to shove it down his throat.

RUSH: He’s talking about the surge. This was Joe Biden, April 27th, 2007. ‘The idea we’re not building these new Humvees with the V-shaped thing is just crap, man! Kids are dying that don’t have to die. And the second thing is, we’re going to shove it down his throat.’ He was asked, ‘When the president kills that bill on the 1st what are…?’ He was talking about the surge. ‘We’re going to shove it down his throat.’ That’s Joe Biden who now is the vice president of the United States as his party now tries to claim victory in Iraq. All predicted, by the way.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s Vic in San Antonio. Hey, Vic, thank you for waiting. I appreciate it. You’re next.

CALLER: Rush, how are you, my friend?

RUSH: Fine and dandy. Thank you, sir.

CALLER: Rush, I want to jump on this hypocrisy of the statement about what happened in Iraq. I’m a four-combat tour vet, retired first sergeant, and I’m now the chairman and CEO of a veterans organization here in the country — and I don’t know if I can mention it or not. But I think I kind of have the authority to say what I’m about to say, and that is, ‘I am tired of the hypocrisy. Stop telling everybody that you’re taking credit for something you kicked us in the teeth for. You beat us down.’ (garbled) I can’t remember how many times folks have said we can’t win this war. ‘Let’s carve the country up into three sectors,’ I think the vice president said at one point in time.

RUSH: Yeah. Now he’s denying he said it, by the way.

CALLER: Absolutely! And I want to thank you personally because I saw that yesterday and I saw that you jumped on this (garbled) and I hope the rest of the media out there jumps on this, too, because it’s high time —

RUSH: Ha!

CALLER: — that all of us who served get credit for what we did and if you want to blame President Bush for everything that’s gone wrong in America for the last hundred years, at least have integrity to put integrity over politics and thank the man for the fact that the surge actually worked —

RUSH: You know what.

CALLER: — and further, the New York Times? I’m challenging them as the chairman and CEO of a veterans organization, to come out now and publish a full page article telling General Petraeus, ‘We’re sorry. You were right; we were wrong. Job well done.’

RUSH: Oh, come on! You’ve don’t expect any of that to happen. You don’t expect the media to jump into Obama’s chili over this. The media is upset because they staged a question from the HuffPo. That’s all they’re upset about. They’re happy for Obama to take the credit on all of this. Look, ladies and gentlemen. Whether it be Iraq or any other policy, you have to understand. (sigh) We’ve got a guy here that has a serious, serious self-love complex. Nothing is going to stop him from doing what he intends to do. Now, you say he ought to bring George Bush in there for this ceremony yesterday. Well, of course a stand-up guy would. If the situation were different, if Bill Clinton had started the surge that led to victory in Iraq, George W. Bush would have had him in there on the day. You know, Bush is a man — whatever else you say about him — full of class. There’s zilch, zero, nada from this bunch. And again, don’t get any expectations that the press is going to get investigatory or investigative with this guy because that’s not in the cards.