Obama Meets Military Leaders in Afghanistan - Voice of America

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has met with US military commanders in Afghanistan, at the start of an international tour designed to boost his foreign policy credentials. Obama visited Bagram air force base in eastern Afghanistan Saturday as part of a congressional delegation that includes two other US senators. The US military says commanders briefed the lawmakers about the war effort. Afghan officials say Obama will meet with President Hamid Karzai during his visit. He is also expected to travel to Iraq.

Obama Opens a Foreign Tour in Afghanistan - Gall and Zeleny, New York Times

Senator Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, opening a high-stakes foreign trip in a country that is increasingly the focus of his clash with Senator John McCain in the presidential campaign over whether the war in Iraq has been a distraction in hunting down terrorists. As Mr. Obama met with American troops, military leaders and regional officials in eastern Afghanistan, he made no public statements in his first hours on the ground here, the first stop on a weeklong trip that will take him to Iraq, Israel and Western Europe. But Mr. McCain quickly sought to raise questions about Mr. Obama’s judgment on foreign policy, saying in a radio address on Saturday that his Democratic opponent had been wrong about the increase in troops in Iraq, a strategy Mr. McCain said should be the basis for addressing deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan as well.

Obama Gets Look At Afghan War Zone - Rondeaux and Balz, Washington Post

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived in the Afghan capital Saturday for a two-day visit to the war-torn country as the debate over the US-led military mission here moves to center stage in the US election. Obama arrived at Kabul International Airport on Saturday morning, but his itinerary was closely guarded for security reasons amid a surge in Taliban activity in recent weeks. Afghan and U.S. officials in Kabul confirmed that the Illinois senator was part of a congressional delegation visiting the country. But most declined to discuss whom he was scheduled to meet, with some denying that Obama was even in the country hours after he had landed.

Obama Timeline Doable, Iraqi Says - Christina Bellantoni, Washington Times

Sen. Barack Obama's first journey to Afghanistan was highlighted Saturday by a key Iraqi leader endorsing the Illinois Democrat's timeline for US troop withdrawal. The visit - kept secret until Mr. Obama arrived in the war zone - kicked off his tour of the Middle East and Europe and signified the balance he must strike between policy meetings with world leaders and building international support through his popularity. "I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said as he left Washington.

Maliki Embraces Obama Plan - Nicholas and Faiez, Los Angeles Times

Barack Obama met with US troops and received a military briefing on conditions in Afghanistan on Saturday during the opening leg of an overseas trip designed to showcase his appeal in foreign capitals and reassure American voters that he would make a reliable commander in chief. Obama's trip is scheduled to include a visit to Iraq, and his foreign policy judgment got an unexpected boost from that country's leader, Nouri Maliki, who praised the Democratic presidential candidate's plan for withdrawing US troops over a 16-month period.

Barack's Iraq Trip - New York Post editorial

Barack Obama is headed for the front - including a stop in an Iraq that would look far different had Washington adopted the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's strategic imperatives. Indeed. For the troop surge so vehemently opposed by Obama has clearly succeeded - as GOP candidate John McCain declared yesterday. "We have succeeded in Iraq - not 'we are succeeding' - we have succeeded in Iraq," said McCain. "The strategy has worked, and we now have the Iraqi government and military in charge of the major cities in Iraq. Al Qaeda is on [its] heels and on the run." McCain has every good reason to be outspoken about the good news.

Obama, Democrats, and the Surge - Peter Wehner, Weekly Standard opinion

This is the week that the Democratic party ran up the white flag when it comes to the surge in Iraq. Leading the surrender was none other than Barack Obama, the Democratic party's presumptive nominee for president and among the most vocal critics of the counterinsurgency plan that has transformed the Iraq war from a potentially catastrophic loss to what may turn out to be a historically significant victory. On Monday, Obama wrote a New York Times op-ed in which he acknowledged the success of the surge. "In the 18 months since President Bush announced the surge," Obama wrote, "our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda--greatly weakening its effectiveness." A day later, Obama gave a speech in which he declared for the first time that "true success" and "victory in Iraq" were possible. In addition, the Obama campaign scrubbed its presidential website to remove criticism of the surge. The debate, then, is over, and the (landslide) verdict is in: The surge has been a tremendous success.

Maliki’s Gift to Obama - Abe Greenwald, Contentions

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s vocal support for Barack Obama’s 16-month withdrawal timetable goes to show how distorted the Iraq drawdown argument has become in light of the election narrative. Of course a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq becomes less preposterous as security increases in that country - because during that transition the idea of timetables stops being purely artificial and becomes more reality-based. To think otherwise is a logical absurdity, and that’s what the popular state of this discussion has become.

Obama Arrives in Baghdad - Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama landed in Baghdad Monday morning, on a fact-finding mission to discuss Iraq strategy and US troop levels here, an issue that has become a cornerstone of debate in the presidential campaign. Obama was scheduled to meet senior US and Iraqi leaders here, including Gen. David H. Petraeus and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. A U.S. Embassy official provided few details of Obama's tour, citing security concerns. Obama arrived shortly before 8 a.m., said a US official, as part of a congressional delegation that included Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), both critics of the war.

Obama's Tour Renews Debate - Aunohita Mojumdar, Christian Science Monitor

Hopes and fears among Afghans clashed during the weekend visit of presumptive US Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, who has vowed to send more US troops to Afghanistan if elected. Among those familiar here with Senator Obama, his trip revived debate about America's military presence in their country. The US has the most soldiers in Afghanistan and donates the most money. Obama has proposed adding two more brigades, or about 7,000 troops.

Obama Joins Karzai for 'Working Lunch' - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met here Sunday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, capping the end of a two-day tour of Afghanistan as casualties continued to mount from violence in the war-torn country. Obama joined Karzai for a "working lunch," marking the first meeting for the Afghan president and the presumptive Democratic nominee. Obama's colleagues in the congressional delegation visiting Afghanistan, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), were also at the lunch, said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai's chief spokesman. Hamidzada said the nearly two-hour meeting, which was also attended by the heads of Afghanistan's ministries of defense, foreign affairs and Karzai's national security adviser, was "positive" and "friendly."

Obama Meets Afghan Leader - Carlotta Gall, New York Times

Senator Barack Obama met with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan for nearly two hours on Sunday and “conveyed that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continuing the war against terrorism with vigor,” an Afghan presidential spokesman said. The meeting, which continued over a traditional Afghan lunch of chicken, mutton and rice, was conducted in a “very friendly environment,” the spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, said. Mr. Obama and the two other senators traveling with him - Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska; and Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island - reaffirmed the United States’ bipartisan support for Afghanistan. And Mr. Karzai asked that the senators pass on the “immense gratitude” of the Afghan people to their constituents and the American public, Mr. Hamidzada said at a news briefing after the lunch.

Maliki Backs Obama's Exit Plan - Geoff Elliott, The Australian

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday appeared to endorse Barack Obama's timetable for the withdrawal of US troops, siding with the Democrat presidential nominee on a key policy difference with Republican rival John McCain. The endorsement from the Iraqi leader came as Senator Obama was in Afghanistan to kick off a tour of the Middle East and Europe in a week that is freighted with importance for American politics. "US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months," Mr Maliki told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine. "That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." But Mr Maliki's spokesman in Baghdad last night tried to hose down the comments, saying the Prime Minister's comments were "not conveyed accurately" by Der Spiegel. Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Mr Maliki did not endorse a specific timetable but instead discussed a "an Iraqi vision" of US troop withdrawals based on talks with Washington and "in the light of the continuing positive developments on the ground".

Obama Controversy over Iraqi 'Endorsement' - Tim Reid, The Times

Barack Obama was set to arrive in Baghdad last night on the third day of his high-profile world tour, amid controversial remarks by the Iraqi leader that appeared to endorse the Democratic presidential candidate over his Republican rival. On only his second visit to the country, Mr Obama will touch down hours after Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, was quoted as saying that he backed the senator's plan to bring home all US combat troops within 16 months. He implicitly criticised John McCain by saying that any effort to prolong the mission “would cause problems”. The Obama campaign immediately trumpeted the remarks as proof that his Iraq plan had the backing of the country's leadership. Mr al-Maliki's interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel came one day after he and President Bush agreed to a “general time horizon” for the withdrawal of US troops. It is the first time that Mr Bush has even hinted at the idea of a timetable and reflects growing White House confidence - as well as an increasing unhappiness in Baghdad over an open-ended US troop presence. Within hours, however, a spokesman for Mr al-Maliki rushed out a statement saying that his remarks about Mr Obama had been “misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately”, and that they “should not be understood as support to any US presidential candidate”.

Comment Stings Maliki - Tavernese and Zeleny, New York Times

On the eve of Senator Barack Obama’s visit to Iraq, its prime minister tried to step back Sunday from comments in an interview in which he appeared to support Mr. Obama’s plan for troop withdrawal. The interview with the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, was published Saturday in the online version of Der Spiegel, a German magazine. It was widely picked up by American newspapers because it appeared to give an unexpected boost to Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who has called for an expedited withdrawal. Mr. Maliki's interview prompted immediate concern from the Bush administration, which called to seek clarification from Mr. Maliki’s office, American officials said.

A Good Reason to Withdraw - Daily Telegraph editorial

Whether or not he intended it, the Iraqi Prime Minister has given an immense boost to Barack Obama - and, by extension, to Gordon Brown. Both men say they will withdraw their forces from Iraq: Mr Obama within 16 months, Mr Brown by early next year. Both men, being of the Left, had felt sensitive to accusations of cutting and running. But the statement by their Iraqi ally, Nouri al-Maliki, that he favours an early evacuation, transforms the parameters of the debate.

Obama's Opportunity in the Middle East - Janessa Gans, CS Monitor opinion

Sen. Barack Obama is visiting with leaders in Europe and the Middle East this week to "deepen important relationships and exchange views with nations vital to the country's national security," said a spokeswoman. In short, Senator Obama will seek to repair friendships that have frayed in the past seven years. It won't be easy, especially in the Middle East, where a thick coat of skepticism and cynicism has dulled the reflection of American aspirations. I saw this firsthand in May, when President Bush spoke to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. He preached the virtues of democratic reform to an audience of English-speaking, pro-Western businesses; NGOs; and political leaders. The effect? More grating than gratitude. If Obama seriously aspires to the title Leader of the Free World, he must speak with a different tone. But more important, perhaps, he must listen for a different answer.

In Iraq, Under the Spotlight - Robert Novak, Washington Post opinion

I asked one of the Republican Party's smartest, most candid heavy hitters last week whether John McCain really has a chance to defeat Barack Obama in this season of Republican discontent. "No, if the campaign is about McCain," he replied. "Yes, if it's about Obama." That underlines the importance of Obama's visit to Iraq, beginning weeks of scrutiny for the Democratic presidential candidate under a GOP spotlight. Four years ago nearly to the day, I asked the same question of the same Republican leader about George W. Bush and John Kerry, and he gave the same answer. He proved prophetic in that Bush's campaign made Kerry the issue, and the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate flunked the test.

Change For Iraq and Barack Obama - Deborah Haynes, The Times opinion

There were four visiting Congressmen at the US Embassy in Baghdad, but the one standing closest to me also had a friendly smile. “So, which one are you?” I asked. “I’m Barack - pleased to meet you,” Mr Obama said. That was on January 7, 2006, when the US senator first visited Iraq on a fact-finding mission that attracted zero fanfare. Two and a half years on, the contrast is staggering, with the world’s media fixated on his return. Details of Mr Obama’s arrival, where he will go and whom he will meet are top secret. Access to him is also tightly controlled, making the chances of a second handshake slim. Everything was so much easier the first time around.

The Democrats' Baghdad Two-Step - Peter Hoekstra, Washington Post opinion

It's hard not to have heard about the positive developments in Iraq lately. On Friday, the White House announced that President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had reached agreement on a "time horizon" for the withdrawal of US combat troops. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last Wednesday that "security is unquestionably and remarkably better." Iraqi security forces recently took responsibility for a 10th province and expect to assume responsibility for all 18 of the country's provinces by year-end. There have been virtually no sectarian killings in 10 weeks. The Iraqi government has made important progress in political reconciliation. Regional neighbors are reestablishing embassies in Baghdad, and some of Iraq's creditors have begun to forgive the enormous debts incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime. How have Democrats reacted to these developments? Have they reveled in the news that US casualties have plummeted? Have they praised the achievements for which our troops have fought so hard? Have they congratulated the Iraqi government for progress in political reconciliation? Not exactly.

No Substitute for Victory - William Kristol, New York Times opinonon

We’re an awfully long way from the European wars of the 19th century, and from the National Socialist regime of the 20th. Nonetheless, as the newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday in its online edition, some German politicians are concerned about the location of Obama’s speech. The deputy leader of the Free Democrats worries “whether Barack Obama was advised correctly in his choice of the Siegessäule as the site to hold a speech on his vision for a more cooperative world.” One Christian Democrat allows that speaking in front of a monument to a victory over neighbors who are today friends and allies “is a problematic symbol.” I share every civilized person’s disdain for Prussian militarism and loathing for National Socialism. But I’m choosing to take the location of Obama’s speech as a hopeful sign. I’m hoping it means that Obama in Berlin will go beyond the anodyne message his campaign advertised Sunday - a discussion of the “historic US-German partnership” and strengthening trans-Atlantic relations. I’m wondering if Obama chose the Victory Column as his speech venue because he intends to make the case for... victory.

Confessions of an anti-Iraq War Democrat - Lani Davis, Washington Times opinion

Maybe another democracy, however imperfect, other than Israel in the Middle East could lead to more moderation, possibly other democracies? Democracies that could serve as bulwarks against al Qaeda-type of terrorist states? Then in 2005-06 came the increased violence from the Sunni insurgents against American kids, then the sectarian civil war between Sunnis and Shi'ites, with young Americans caught in the crossfire. My certainty in opposing the war and supporting a deadline for getting out re-emerged. And then in early 2007 came the surge, which so many of us in the antiwar left of the Democratic Party predicted would be a failure, throwing good men and women and billions of dollars after futility. We were wrong. The surge did, in fact, lead to a reduction of violence, confirmed by media on the ground as well as our military leaders.

Clinton Lends Her Campaign More Money as Its Debt Proves Stubborn
By MICHAEL LUOMrs. Clinton’s debts to vendors increased to $12 million at the end of the month from $10.4 million at the end of May.

July 21, 2008
McCain and Obama Agree to Attend Megachurch Forum
By JIM RUTENBERGThe presidential candidates will attend a forum at the Saddleback Church in California later this summer.

ABOUT: THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE (BOOK)

July 21, 2008 The Caucus
Rising Value of a Vote in a Struggling Economy
By JOHN HARWOODThe struggling economy offers Barack Obama an opportunity for building an edge over John McCain.

July 21, 2008 The Long Run
After 2000, McCain Learned to Work Levers of Power
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICKOnce better known for criticizing the Senate than for influencing it, John McCain has evolved into perhaps the chamber’s most influential member.

July 21, 2008
Obama’s Visit Renews Focus on Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL and JEFF ZELENYBarack Obama stopped on a high-profile foreign trip in a country that is increasingly the focus of his clash with John McCain.

Comment Stings Iraqi Leader on Eve of Obama Visit
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and JEFF ZELENYIraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki tried to step back from comments in which he appeared to support Senator Barack Obama’s plan for troop withdrawal.

July 21, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
Sobriety, Herr Obama
By ROGER COHENThe Obamania in Europe needs to be kept in check. There’s too much work to be done.

July 21, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
No Substitute for Victory
By WILLIAM KRISTOLIn Berlin, Barack Obama will surely pledge our commitment to victory in the struggle for freedom.

July 21, 2008
Influx of Voters Likely to Test New Machines
By IAN URBINAElection officials fear that new voting technologies paired with millions of new voters may cause the nation’s system to buckle under the increased strain.

• HuffPo: Hillraisers Gave Less Than $20K To Obama In June
• Powell Giving "Outside Advice" To Obama
• NYT Asked For Rewrite Of McCain Op-Ed
• Clinton Staffers Settle Into New Jobs
• Dems Plowing Huge Money Into Tough Maine Senate Race
• Poll: Obama Up 8 Points In Ohio
• Rice: Embassies Shouldn't Help Pres. Candidates
• New McCain Ad Hits Obama On Domestic Front
• League Of Conservation Voters To Endorse Obama
• Study: Poor Ballot Designs Still Plague Elections
• Election Central Morning Roundup - 7/21/2008
• Matt Drudge Doesn't Always Rule The Media's World

Leaving Iraq: Debate Shifts to When - Michael Scherer, Time

Republican political strategists have long said privately what Republican candidates for President only hinted at publicly. No one can win the White House in 2008 by campaigning to continue an unending war in Iraq. "The sentence has to have the word 'leaving' in it," said Grover Norquist, the influential Republican operative, at a breakfast meeting in June of 2007. "Doesn't mean you have to leave tomorrow, doesn't mean you have to surrender, doesn't mean you have to cut and run, but the articulation of the policy needs to be clear to the American people that we are not staying there indefinitely, and that there is a 'doing something' and a 'leaving.'"

Iraq Points to Pullout in 2010 - Raghavan and Eggen, Washington Post

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama conferred with senior Iraqi leaders, US officials and military commanders Monday, as a spokesman for the Iraqi government declared that it would like US combat forces to complete their withdrawal by the end of 2010. The comments by spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh mark the second time in recent days that a senior Iraqi has endorsed a timetable for US withdrawal that is roughly similar to the one advocated by Obama. Dabbagh suggested that a combat force pullout could be completed by the end of 2010, which would be about seven months longer than Obama's 16-month formulation.

Obama Meets Iraqi Prime Minister - Oppel and Rubin, New York Times

Senator Barack Obama arrived in Baghdad on Monday, meeting with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi politicians, as an Iraqi spokesman said that the government was hopeful that foreign combat troops would withdraw in 2010. Mr. Obama, on the latest leg of his first overseas tour as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, arrived in the Iraqi capital in the early afternoon with an American delegation after first stopping in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Mr. Obama met with Mr. Maliki; the United States ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker; the Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, and other Iraqi officials at the prime minister’s residence in the Green Zone.

Iraqi Schedule Close to Obama's - Zavis and Smith, Los Angeles Times

After Barack Obama met with Iraqi leaders here on Monday, the Iraqi government outlined a possible schedule for a US troop withdrawal that is similar to the plan the Democratic presidential candidate has pledged to follow if he is elected. Its announcement bolstered Obama's credibility on a key foreign policy issue, early in a weeklong trip to the Middle East and Europe that was designed to reassure voters concerned he lacks the experience to be commander in chief.

We Want US Troops Out in Two Years - Haynes and Reid, The Times

The Iraqi Government said yesterday that it had a vision for all US combat troops to leave the country by the end of 2010 - another apparent endorsement of Barack Obama's war strategy during his visit to Baghdad. The sudden and unexpected Iraqi comments on the desire for a timetabled withdrawal, made by Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman for the Iraqi Government, was greeted with dismay by the White House and John McCain, Mr Obama's Republican rival, who opposes setting an exit date. The call came after the Democratic presidential hopeful held talks with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister.

Obama Seeks Faster Iraq Troop Exit - Deborah Haynes, The Australian

Barack Obama arrived in Baghdad yesterday on the second leg of a world tour aimed at boosting his foreign policy credentials and convincing the US public that he has what it takes to become the next commander-in-chief. The controversial issue of troop withdrawals featured highly in meetings between Senator Obama and a line of senior Iraqi, US and British officials he is scheduled to meet over the next 24 hours. Senator Obama's visit, his second to the country, comes amid what appears to be growing consensus in Washington that the US can pull out troops at a far quicker rate than the White House had anticipated. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday said conditions in Iraq were improving "as we speak, so it's not at all unusual to start to think that there is a horizon out there, in the not-too-distant future, in which the roles and responsibilities of the US forces are going to change dramatically".

Obama Gets First-Hand Look at Iraq War - Voice of America

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he held constructive talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad Monday during the latest stop on the U.S. senator's international tour. Obama met with Mr. Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Iraq's capital, following a stopover in the southern city of Basra. Obama did not reveal further details of their talks. The US senator also met today with the number two US military commander in Iraq and was expected to hold talks later with top US commander General David Petraeus. The US strategy in Iraq is a key issue in the November election race between Obama, the presumptive Democratic party nominee, and his opponent, Republican Senator John McCain.

For Obama, a First Step Is Not a Misstep - Oppel and Rubin, New York Times

The Iraqi government on Monday left little doubt that it favors a withdrawal plan for American combat troops similar to what Senator Barack Obama has proposed, providing Mr. Obama with a potentially powerful political boost on a day he spent in Iraq working to fortify his credibility as a wartime leader. After a day spent meeting Iraqi leaders and American military commanders, Mr. Obama seemed to have navigated one of the riskiest parts of a weeklong international trip without a noticeable hitch and to have gained a new opportunity to blunt attacks on his national security credentials by his Republican rival in the presidential race, Senator John McCain.

Barack Who? Arabs Weigh In. - Caryle Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

Senator Obama's campaign may have launched groundswells of hope, ardor, and optimism at home and in Europe. But at the start of his closely watched trip to the Middle East, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee is little known in the Arab world, and has yet to generate widespread interest or enthusiasm. From Baghdad to Beirut, people said in recent interviews that they are unfamiliar with his policies, except for his plan to move quickly to pull US troops out of Iraq. In general, they said they prefer Obama over the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain ® of Arizona, whom they view as unsympathetic to Arabs. But even those who like Obama's personality are not expecting him to initiate major turnabouts on US Middle East policies, particularly on the most contentious one of all, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mideast Sees More of the Same - Slackman and Kershner, New York Times

For what feels like forever, Israelis and their Arab neighbors have been hopelessly deadlocked on how to resolve the Palestinian crisis. But there is one point they may now agree on: If elected president, Senator Barack Obama will not fundamentally recalibrate America’s relationship with Israel, or the Arab world. From the religious center of Jerusalem to the rolling hills of Amman to the crowded streets of Cairo, dozens of interviews revealed a similar sentiment: the United States will ultimately support Israel over the Palestinians, no matter who the president is. That presumption promoted a degree of relief in Israel and resignation here in Jordan and in Israel’s other Arab neighbors.

Getting Iraq Right - John McCain, New York Post opinion

EDITORS' NOTE: The New York Times wouldn't print this oped from the GOP candidate. As he took command in Iraq in January 2007, Gen. David Petraeus called the situation "hard" but not "hopeless." Today, 18 months later, violence has fallen by up to 80 percent to the lowest levels in four years, and Sunni and Shiite terrorists are reeling from a string of defeats. The situation is full of hope - but considerable hard work remains to consolidate our fragile gains. Progress has been due mainly to an increase in the number of troops and a change in their strategy. I was an early advocate of the surge at a time when it had few supporters in Washington. Sen. Barack Obama was an equally vocal opponent.

Back to Afghanistan - Eric Egland, National Review opinion

Barack Obama’s weekend trip to Afghanistan illustrates how both presidential candidates are shifting focus now that Operation Iraqi Freedom looks like it will succeed. Indeed, Operation Enduring Freedom - the war in Afghanistan - needs extra attention. On the positive side, our troops have prevented another attack on our homeland for six years by punishing al-Qaeda and Taliban forces and keeping their top leadership on the run. However, recent attack statistics reveal a deteriorating security situation. While more attacks generally occur in spring after harsh Afghan winters, the latest trend is more pronounced and appears more sustainable, as Islamic extremists shift their emphasis from Iraq. Both General Petraeus and Afghan president Hamid Karzai have conveyed severally that al-Qaeda seems to understand that it will not succeed in Iraq, and has been redirecting operatives and resources to Afghaniatan.

Obama's Iraq Mission - E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post opinion

To win the presidency, Barack Obama needs only to battle John McCain to a tie on foreign policy and national security. That means Obama has no need for a great triumph during his trip this week to the Middle East and Europe. His goal is to look safe, sound and competent, and that's how he's playing things. More and more, 2008 is taking on the contours of 1980. Then, the country, desperate for change after the battering it felt it took during Jimmy Carter's term, was eager to vote for a new direction and a charismatic leader. But Ronald Reagan was inexperienced in foreign policy. Some of his previous statements made swing voters worry that he might blow up the world -- or so Carter's strategists tried to get voters to think. The election stayed close until the final days.

Drop Those Flip-Flops - Kathryn Lopez, National Review opinion

I hate flip-flops. That is, I hate the shoes. They’re impractical. Unsafe, even. But I really hate the political accusation. It’s gone from being a legitimate shorthand descriptive to being a nonsensical dismissive. Don’t dress in them, but let the politician flip-flop, already — if by “flip-flop” you mean a prudential and authentic change of mind. Now, that’s probably just a flip, but I guess then we’d be looking at things rationally. The Washington Post, in fact, very recently encouraged a flip, by accusing Barack Obama of a “foolish consistency” on Iraq. The Democratic party has put itself in a position where it appears to be rooting for America’s defeat in Iraq. As the General Petraeus-led surge strategy has worked there - a strategy the Democrats heartily opposed, to outrageous and disgraceful lengths - they can’t bring themselves to acknowledge and embrace success and adapt their outlook and platform to reflect the new reality. Obama was for withdrawing from Iraq then (when Iraq seemed a disaster) and he’s for withdrawing from Iraq now. A leader might take the time to look at the facts on the ground. Instead, he announced his same-old position before his long-anticipated trip to Iraq.

Beijing Looks at McCain - William Triplett, Washington Times opinion

On July 14, 2006, the proximity fuse of a Chinese-origin cruise missile went off over the fan tail of the Israeli warship, "Hanit," then operating in international waters off Beirut. The ship survived but four Israeli families mourn the loss of their sons and certain Chinese arms dealers found a sweet addition to their offshore bank balances. The missile, one of two fired at the Israelis, is known as a C-802, extended range. Experts in Washington agree that the missile or the technology to make it was sold to Iran, who then transferred it to Hezbollah gunners in Lebanon. From Beijing's standpoint, the election of Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, as president of the United States would very likely put a severe restriction on their illicit arms sales to terrorist countries and now, terrorist groups. This is a very lucrative business - profits are well above 100 percent of costs and each missile represents millions of dollars. It is all private money in foreign exchange to many of the highest ranking members of Beijing's political and military elite. Since Chinese private citizens do not have access to military weapons of this complexity, arms smuggling by China is a perk exclusively for Chinese officials and their families.

Afghanistan Doesn't Need a 'Surge' - Ann Marlowe, Wall Street Journal opinion

Afghanistan needs many things, but two more brigades of US troops are not among them. Barack Obama said: "We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there." Mr. Obama should have supported the surge in Iraq, but that doesn't mean that advocating one in Afghanistan makes sense. Afghanistan's problems are not the same as Iraq's. Its people aren't recovering from a brutal, all-controlling tyranny, but from decades of chaos and centuries of bad government. Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, is largely illiterate and has a relatively undeveloped civil society. Afghan society still centers around the family and, for men, the mosque. Its society and traditions are still largely intact, in contrast to Iraq's fractured, urbanized and half-modernized population.

Obama, Maliki, and McCain - Byron York, National Review opinion

For months now, John McCain has urged Barack Obama to visit Iraq. “It has been 873 days since Sen. Obama’s one and only visit to Iraq,” a McCain campaign statement said on May 30. “Before [he] decides to override the recommendations of our commanders in the field and surrender the fight, he should have the judgment to see for himself first-hand the conditions on the ground.” Maybe McCain shouldn’t have been so emphatic. What if Obama went to Iraq, decided his position was the correct one, and then, in a major campaign coup, received what appeared to be the endorsement of the Iraqi prime minister? And - extra points - made himself look more statesmanlike in the process? Obama arrived in Baghdad early this morning, and all that seems to have happened.

Obama's Overseas Education - Ralph Peters, New York Post opinion

From the late 18th through the 19th century, young men of means went on a "grand tour" abroad to finish their educations. Some returned with fond memories, others with artifacts pried from temple walls - and the remainder with syphilis. Sen. Barack Obama's grand tour offers fewer opportunities for mischief and misfortune, but we all must hope that he learned from his travels and wasn't just checking the blocks. Set aside your political preferences (I'll be voting for Sen. John McCain): Whoever wins, all sensible Americans want our next president to perform well. So let's consider the pros and cons of Obama's wheels-down-wheels-up visits to Afghanistan, Iraq and Europe.

The Surge is a Losing Strategy - Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times opinion

Yes, McCain heroically pushed for the surge when the war was at its most unpopular point. Even more impressive, he favored a change in strategy back when the war was popular. Within months of the invasion, McCain was calling for more troops and the head of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Later, when the Iraqi civil war erupted, Al Qaeda in Iraq metastasized and the Iranians mounted a clandestine surge all their own, McCain doubled-down; he argued that we couldn't afford to lose and proposed a revised counterinsurgency strategy for victory. That was the same very month that Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007." That's all great stuff for McCain's biographers. But the tragic Catch-22 for the Arizona senator is that the more the surge succeeds, the more politically advantageous it is for Obama. Voters don't care about the surge; they care about the war. Americans want it to be over -- and in a way they can be proud of.

Obama Overseas - Tara Wall, Washington Times opinion

As Barack Obama galavants across Europe and the Middle East (the senator is in Israel today), John McCain is doing all he can to muster any news coverage whatsoever. Prior to the trip, the senior senator chided Mr. Obama for his failure to visit Iraq for over 900 days (since the surge strategy was implemented), only to criticize his "timing" in doing so now. Outside of his criticism, Mr. McCain is focusing on the economy. But he too may want to turn his attention to Israel, particularly since the first of its kind Republican-led Mideast peace plan (not perfect by any stretch), is worth touting, and in light of much criticism of Bill Clinton's more tepid, out-of-the-mainstream, approach to mideast peace. Rabbi Steve Conn of Congregation Beth Shalom observed: "The Clinton Administration has put great pressure on Israel to make concessions in the name of peace in the Middle East."

Mission Accomplished - Peter Ferrara, National Review opinion

Barack Obama continues his overseas trip today in the Middle East, where the facts on the ground have recently been moving so fast hardly anyone in the US has really kept up. But unheralded press reports in recent weeks establish this new reality. The war in Iraq is over. America and her allies won. Sorry, Barack, but it is too late for you and your misguided, uninformed, anti-American netroots to surrender. The surge that Obama opposed and said would fail has succeeded spectacularly. McCain was right about that from the beginning.

McCain's Mettle - Stuart Koehl, Weekly Standard opinion

In writing about the qualifications for the chief executive of the United States, the Founding Fathers did not seem to care much about where candidates stood on the issues, or what their position papers said, or what their talking points might be. Neither did they care much about poise, posture, eloquence or even "experience". The word that comes up most often, starting with the Federalist Papers, is "character". It wasn't what a man said, or believed, but what a man was that determined his fitness for office. The German military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote in his landmark book On War, that "War is a contest of character", by which he meant that, more than skill or intellect, it is a combination of physical and moral courage allied with resolution that determine success or failure. This is true at all levels of command, from squad to army, and even the entire nation. And it is true not only in war, but in any endeavor where decision-making carries momentous consequences, which is why the Founders placed so much emphasis on it. The ongoing presidential campaign has tended to focus on matters like "competence", "experience", and "consistency"--but these are essentially peripheral matters.

McCain Says Policy on Iraq is Unchanged? - David Jackson, USA Today

John McCain and his aides parried Monday with Barack Obama's campaign over Obama's contention that the White House is adopting his ideas on dealings with Iraq and Iran. McCain blasted Obama for opposing the Bush administration's "surge" in Iraq, saying that the extra troops created a sharp drop in violence and conditions for victory. "When you win wars, troops come home," McCain said. "He's been completely wrong on the issue." Over the weekend, the Obama campaign pointed to the Bush administration's talk about a "general time horizon" to withdraw US troops in Iraq and its dispatching of a high-level State Department official to Geneva to meet with Iranian diplomats last weekend about that country's nuclear program. Obama has said he would be willing to meet with Iran's leader and has been calling for US troops to withdraw from Iraq since 2006, prior to the surge. "He said it (the surge) would fail, and he refuses to admit to this day that it succeeded," McCain said.

McCain Highlights Differences with Obama over Iraq - Jim Malone, VOA

As Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama continues his highly publicized overseas tour, his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, is doing all he can to remain part of the election debate. The war in Iraq continues to be at the center of their disagreements. At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire Tuesday, McCain reminded his audience that he was one of the few members of Congress to speak out in support of President Bush's surge strategy in Iraq at a time when the war effort was not going well. McCain added that Obama has yet to say that the surge has been a success. "We would never have succeeded and we would have had defeat, and my friends, that would have been a catastrophe for the United States of America," he said. "He was wrong then, he is wrong now and he still fails to acknowledge that the surge succeeded. Remarkable. Remarkable."

Obama Defends Iraq Withdraw Proposal - Balz and Raghavan, Washington Post

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday defended his proposal to withdraw US forces from Iraq over a 16-month period and send more troops to Afghanistan, despite what he acknowledged was the opposition to any pullout timeline from the US commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. "The situation in Afghanistan is perilous and urgent," Obama told a news conference. "We must act now to reverse a deteriorating situation."

Obama Shifts Foreign Policy Debate - DeYoung and Weisman, Washington Post

Sen. Barack Obama, on his first and likely only overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has remade the campaign's foreign policy playing field, neatly sidestepping Republican charges that he has been naive and wrong on Iraq and moving to a broader, post-Iraq focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. In essence, Obama has declared the war in Iraq all but over. "There is security progress," he said during yesterday's news conference in Amman, Jordan. "Now we need a political solution." While a diminished US force under his presidency would continue to protect US personnel, target terrorists and provide training, he said, it would be up to Baghdad to consolidate the victory by "setting up a government that is working for the people."

Mr. Obama in Iraq - Washington Post editorial

The initial media coverage of Barack Obama's visit to Iraq suggested that the Democratic candidate found agreement with his plan to withdraw all US combat forces on a 16-month timetable. So it seems worthwhile to point out that, by Mr. Obama's own account, neither US commanders nor Iraq's principal political leaders actually support his strategy. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the architect of the dramatic turnaround in US fortunes, "does not want a timetable," Mr. Obama reported with welcome candor during a news conference yesterday. In an interview with ABC, he explained that "there are deep concerns about... a timetable that doesn't take into account what [American commanders] anticipate might be some sort of change in conditions." Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has a history of tailoring his public statements for political purposes, made headlines by saying he would support a withdrawal of American forces by 2010. But an Iraqi government statement made clear that Mr. Maliki's timetable would extend at least seven months beyond Mr. Obama's. More significant, it would be "a timetable which Iraqis set" -- not the Washington-imposed schedule that Mr. Obama has in mind. It would also be conditioned on the readiness of Iraqi forces, the same linkage that Gen. Petraeus seeks. As Mr. Obama put it, Mr. Maliki "wants some flexibility in terms of how that's carried out."

The Pakghani Front - Wall Street Journal editorial

Barack Obama yesterday conceded that the surge in Iraq has brought "progress." However, the presumptive Democratic nominee has discovered another American losing cause. The situation in Afghanistan, he said in Amman, Jordan, is "deteriorating" and "perilous and urgent." The junior Senator from Illinois still wants a quick withdrawal from Iraq, despite a contrary view from the military commander there, General David Petraeus. Yet on Afghanistan, Obama turns all militarist. He says he'd send two additional brigades to supplement the 35,000-strong US force. He has previously called for American troops to track down and kill or capture al Qaeda leaders across the border in Pakistan. The Obama push for extra resources isn't out of line with the Administration. In the past year, the US steadily boosted its troop presence in Afghanistan. The Marines deployed in the restive south earlier this year have helped keep that region relatively calm in the summer fighting season.

The NYT and the McCain Op-ed - Washington Times editorial

On July 14, the NYT published an op-ed by Barack Obama explaining his security plan for Iraq, in which he argued in favor of removing US combat troops by the summer of 2010, while leaving a much smaller residual force in place. At the same time, Mr. Obama proposed sending at least two additional combat brigades to support the US military effort in Afghanistan. Fair enough - that's what an Op-Ed Page is for. Unfortunately, the NYT failed to give the same courtesy to John McCain when his campaign staff attempted to submit an op-ed (which we reprint today on our op-ed page) in response to Mr. Obama's submission. When Michael Goldfarb, a member of Mr. McCain's staff, drafted an essay explaining the Arizona senator's position on these issues, it was rejected by NYT op-ed page editor David Shipley. Mr. Shipley e-mailed Mr. Goldfarb that the Obama op-ed "worked for me" because "it offered new information" and because the senator "went into detail about his own plans." Then, Mr. Shipley (a speechwriter in the Clinton White House) told Mr. Goldfarb that an acceptable op-ed from Mr. McCain "would have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory - with troop levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate. And it would need to describe the senator's Afghanistan strategy, spelling out how it meshes with his Iraq plan." With that, Mr. Shipley announced that he would be out of the office this week.

Behind Maliki's Games - Max Boot, Washington Post opinion

There is some irony in the fact that Democrats, after years of deriding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a hopeless bungler and conniving Shiite sectarian, are now treating as sacrosanct his suggestion that Iraq will be ready to assume responsibility for its own security by 2010. Naturally this is because his position seems to support that of Barack Obama. A little skepticism is in order here. The prime minister has political motives for what he's saying -- whatever that is. An anonymous Iraqi official told the state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper, "Maliki thinks that Obama is most likely to win in the presidential election" and that "he's got to take preemptive steps before Obama gets to the White House." By smoothing Obama's maiden voyage abroad as the Democratic nominee, Maliki may figure that he will collect chits that he can call in later.

All Hail ‘McBama’ - Thomas Friedman, New York Times opinion

John McCain needs to wake up and smell the Arabic coffee. I know this is not an easy time for him. When you have been beaten up for four years because of your support for the Iraq war, and then you get something big right - your support for the surge - you want to be able to savor that for a while. You want to make your rightness on that issue the issue of this election. McCain was right about the surge. It has helped to stabilize Iraq and create a better chance there for political reconciliation. But Iraq has always been a story full of surprises. And one of the most important political surprises is how quickly the surge has made Iraq safe for Barack Obama’s foreign policy - and for the election policy of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

An Innocent Abroad - Cal Thomas, Washington Times opinion

I remember the first time my wife and I visited Europe and the Middle East. The trip resembled Sen. Barack Obama's current version of speed travel, but without the entourage, security and network coverage. Armed with Arthur Frommer's "Europe on $5 a Day," we crammed as much as we could into 18-hour days, hitting the museums, art galleries, cathedrals and restaurants. When the tour ended, we had impressions and a slightly better view of the world. There is a difference, though, between a view of the world and a worldview. A view of the world means you might like London and I might prefer Paris, but each preference can be equally valid because it is a matter of individual taste. A correct worldview is a way of not just looking at other countries and people, but having an intellectual and moral center that allows one to distinguish between good and evil; right and wrong; sound economic, social and political policies and bad ones.

Obama Meets With Israeli and Palestinian Leaders - Jeff Zeleny, New York Times

With a fanfare typically orchestrated for a visiting head of state, Senator Barack Obama dashed through a series of meetings with leaders on both sides of the Middle East conflict on Wednesday, pledging to protect Israel and prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Mr. Obama, who said he hoped his appearance here would open the door to a stronger bond with Jewish voters at home, pledged that if elected president he would not pressure Israel to accept concessions with Palestinians that would compromise security for Israelis. He also sought to allay concerns over his proposal to negotiate with Iran.

Working to Ensure Jewish Vote - Weisman and Boorstein, Washington Post

Before embarking on a sprawling international trip that would take him to seven countries, two continents and two war zones, Sen. Barack Obama and his campaign staff fixated on a speck on the globe that is slightly smaller than New Jersey: Israel. For all the hype about his trip to Iraq and his speech in Berlin, it was the Israel leg that was the most sensitive and the most meticulously planned, according to sources involved with the arrangements. That fact alone is a testament to the presidential candidate's ongoing concerns about the Jewish vote this November, and the extraordinary lengths to which the senator from Illinois is going to ensure support from that traditional Democratic constituency.

Obama Assures Israel of Support - Finnegan and Boudreaux, Los Angeles Times

Despite months of warnings by John McCain that Barack Obama's stance toward Iran threatens Israel, political leaders in the Jewish state welcomed the Democrat's assurances Wednesday that he would work to block Iran from acquiring nuclear arms. Obama navigated a thicket of regional tensions on a daylong visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. But Israeli leaders across the political spectrum voiced no misgivings about his commitment to Israel's security -- above all in countering the Iranian threat.

Judgment Call - National Review editorial

So we’re supposed to think that Barack Obama has foreign-policy gravitas on the basis of his trip to the Middle East. And the senator seemed to get some PR help from no less a figure than Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, who over the weekend was quoted by the German magazine Der Spiegel as saying: “US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.” But what does the flap tell us about Iraq, and about Obama’s judgment? The first thing to note is how quickly the Iraqi government sought to distance itself from Maliki’s statement. Set aside for a moment the question of whether Maliki was misquoted; his government wanted the world to conclude that he had been - and, by extension, that he had not endorsed Barack Obama’s strategic view. What is easy to forget is that Maliki is a politician with a constituency to please, and a not-insignificant part of that constituency is susceptible to denunciations of “American occupation.” If Maliki, the procedural-democracy man, is to keep their loyalties away from darker figures (see al-Sadr, Moqtada), he will occasionally have to say what they want to hear.

More on Maliki’s Games - Max Boot, Contentions

My op-ed in the Washington Post, “Behind Maliki’s Games,” is causing a predictable tizzy in some corners of the leftist blogosphere. (See, for instance, this and this and this.) I would like to reply briefly to a couple of the points raised. First, the bloggers ask, how can I possibly claim that “most Iraqis realize that the gains of the surge are fragile and could be undone by a too-rapid departure of US forces”? Aren’t I aware of a March poll by the BBC, ABC, and other Western news organizations which found, as one blogger notes, “Just four percent of Iraqis said they had ‘a great deal of confidence’ in US occupation forces, compared to 46 percent who said they had no confidence at all. 72 percent strongly or somewhat oppose the presence of Coalition forces in Iraq.” I am well aware of that poll, and I have cited before another of its findings–namely that only 38% of Iraqis think that coalition forces should leave right away. Of those surveyed, fully 62% think that US forces need to stay until security conditions improve. “Moreover,” the poll summary finds, “despite their antipathy, big majorities see a continued role for the United States.

Who Are the Iraqis? - Andrew McCarthy, National Review opinion

What to make of this week’s theater in Iraq? To recap briefly, the country was going to hell in a hand-basket in 2006 when President Bush decided to just say “no” to the Democrat Surrender Chorus. With John McCain’s support, the commander-in-chief directed a “surge” in US combat forces under the brilliant leadership of General David Petraeus. The results could not have been better: Al-Qaeda has been routed, Shiite militia activity is diminished, violence is down throughout the country, and Iraqis are making progress toward political stability. So this week Barack Obama, the Democrats’ presidential candidate, made a ballyhooed “fact-finding” tour of the same Iraq he wanted Americans to retreat from in defeat two years ago. And Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, despite owing his job to Bush and McCain, presented Obama with a big fat bouquet.

Obama's Experience Doesn't Match Up - Richard Allen, Wall Street Journal opinion

Heading off on his week-long, high-profile tour of seven countries, Barack Obama defined the first part of the trip's purpose by telling reporters, "I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of... what... their biggest concerns are." While the Iraqi effort is almost exclusively American now, Afghanistan is a NATO mission. Sen. Obama, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on European and NATO affairs, had never visited Afghanistan, and has not bothered to hold a hearing of the subcommittee covering the countries for which it bears legislative oversight responsibility. How does Mr. Obama's foreign policy résumé compare with the preparation of past presidential candidates?

Antiwar Hypocrites - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Am I the only one who's noticed the silence? Mere months ago, left-wing bloggers and demonstrators were wailing Support our troops, bring them home! seven days a week. Now their presidential candidate has announced that he won't bring all those troops home, but will simply transfer combat forces from Iraq to Afghanistan - expanding that war. (He's discussed possibly invading Pakistan, too.) And the left's quiet as a graveyard at midnight. Where are the outraged protests from MoveOn or the DailyKos? I thought the extreme left felt sorry for our service members in harm's way and wanted to reunite them with their families. What happened? We all know exactly what happened. The left has nothing against foreign wars (as long as they don't have to fight in person). They just want to pick our wars themselves.

GERAGHTY: Jordan's King Abdullah gives Obama some good advice.


YORK: Obama plans his White House transition.


HANSON: Even biased reporters are chaffing at the new gospels of Obamism.


MADDEN: How will Berlin play in Peoria?


EDITORS: The question now is not one of whether to reduce our presence in Iraq, but of how to do so in a way that maintains the strategic gains the surge has wrought.

The World Can Expect Better of America - Roger Boyes, The Times

Barack Obama, already hailed as a political Messiah by the German press, tonight took the US presidential campaign to Europe with a thunderously applauded speech promising a better, more sensitive America and urging a new global partnership. The rally in front of Berlin's Victory Column was by the standards of post 9/11 political campaigning remarkably open, a veritable carnival as some 200,000 German Obama fans frequently interrupted his foreign policy speech with cheers and shouts of Pres-i-dent! If the intended message was to show American voters that he could restore the tarnished image of the US abroad, then the rally - the only such event in his overseas tour - succeeded.

Obama, Vague on Issues, Pleases Crowd - Steven Erlanger, New York Times

For Senator Barack Obama, who came to Europe once in the last four years, making a stop in London on his way to Russia, the response of many Europeans to his potential presidency has been gratifying - emotional, responsive, replete with the sense of hope he seeks to engender about a more flexible, less ideological America. European governments and politicians are not so sure. On Thursday evening in a glittering Berlin, Mr. Obama delivered a tone poem to American and European ideals and shared history. But he was vague on crucial issues of trade, defense and foreign policy that currently divide Washington from Europe and are likely to continue to do so even if he becomes president - issues ranging from Russia, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan to new refueling tankers and chlorinated chickens, the focus of an 11-year European ban on American poultry imports.

Obama Says Walls Must Come Down - Balz and Smiley, Washington Post

Addressing a huge throng in the middle of this once-divided city, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday implored Americans and Europeans to renew the partnership that once defeated communism to address 21st-century threats that he said put the security of all nations at risk. Obama invoked the sweep of history over the last half of the 20th century, pointing to Berlin as a symbol of what cooperation in the transatlantic alliance can do. "People of the world: Look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one," he said.

Feted Abroad, Facing Fight at Home - Tim Reid, The Times

While Barack Obama was being feted in Berlin, there were many voters back in the US wondering what he was doing in Europe at a time when their homes are being repossessed and jobs cut. With Europeans clearly favouring Mr Obama over his Republican rival John McCain, the reality back in America is that their presidential race is close, with many voters still harbouring significant doubts about the Democrat's lack of experience and core values. Although it is early days in the general election campaign, and with Mr Obama still favoured to win, the polls show that since he captured his party's nomination a month ago, Mr McCain has actually gained ground on his opponent.

Obama Speaks to Germany on Ties - Zeleny and Kulish, New York Times

Senator Barack Obama stood before a sea of people here Thursday evening and issued a call for cooperation, imploring America and Europe to bridge differences and rekindle old alliances in an effort to restore global stability and better confront existing and unforeseen threats. Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who is on a weeklong international tour, delivered his address at the base of the Victory Column in the Tiergarten, a sprawling park in the center of the city. He looked out toward the Brandenburg Gate, where President Ronald Reagan implored the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down that wall” and end the Cold War, and spoke to crowd that the German News Agency DPA estimated at 200,000 people. On the other side of the Atlantic, where Mr. McCain campaigned in the nation’s midsection on Thursday, he criticized Mr. Obama for traveling to Germany to deliver the address. “I’d love to give a speech in Germany - a political speech or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in,” he told a crowd in Ohio, “but I’d much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate.”

Obama Scraps Visit to Wounded Troops - Associated Press

Sen. Barack Obama scrapped plans to visit wounded members of the armed forces in Germany as part of his overseas trip, a decision his spokesman said was made because the Democratic presidential candidate thought it would be inappropriate on a campaign-funded journey. The spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Thursday that Obama made his decision out of respect for the servicemen and women, but Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign immediately criticized the move. "Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

Baghdad, Berlin, Barack - Wall Street Journal editorial

For our money, the best line in Barack Obama's speech yesterday in Berlin came in the form of a quote from Ernst Reuter, the city's mayor during the period of the Soviet blockade and the American airlift, in 1948: "But in the darkest hour," said Sen. Obama, "the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. 'There is only one possibility,' he said. 'For us to stand together united until this battle is won…. The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty'." This, from a US Senator whose consistent message to the people of Baghdad, a similarly besieged city, also dependent on America's protection, has been, in effect, to give up.

Maliki's Gift - Peter Wehner, Commentary opinion

There is a certain bitter irony for the McCain campaign regarding Prime Minister Maliki and other Iraqi leaders having publicly agreed with Barack Obama's call for withdrawing US combat troops from Iraq by 2010. It has lent an enormous political assist to the man (Obama) who, if he had his way, would have allowed Iraq to die, and dealt a huge setback to the man (McCain) who fought courageously and successful on behalf of a new counterinsurgency strategy that saved Iraq. While it's true that the surge is not alone responsible for the progress we've made in Iraq, it's impossible to argue that the progress we made would have been possible without it. There is little question now that the Iraqi government's newly stated position on troop withdrawals has been a great gift for Obama. The public perception is that even the Iraqis agree with Obama now; caveats and subtle interpretations of what is really being said, and not said, will be lost. It may be that the United States has made, and will continue to make, so much progress in Iraq that it will succeed even if Obama is sworn in as president next January. But it may not. The gains there, while indisputable and enormous, may in fact turn out to be fragile and reversible, as General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have repeatedly warned.

Topic A: Obama in Berlin - Douglas Schoen, Washington Post opinion

The pundits are unanimous. Barack Obama's tour of the Middle East was a triumph, but his speech in Berlin was fraught with risk. Even Obama's supporters worried that it was too political, too presumptions, too foreign, too novel -- in short, too much like the things many skeptics find most worrisome about the candidate himself. So why did he do it. To win in November, Barack Obama must convince voters that his worldview trumps John McCain's credentials. If Obama can do this, victory is certain. Yesterday's speech was the first salvo in this all-important campaign. Despite Obama's recent successes, polls suggest serious weaknesses. According to the latest NBC-Wall Street Journal survey, Americans see Obama as a riskier choice for president than McCain by a margin of 20 percentage points. Thirty-four percent see McCain as the more experienced commander in chief. That's why Obama sought to do something bold in Berlin.

Faking It - Maggie Gallagher, Washington Times opinion

Obama has a problem: What do you do when you're a lightly accomplished one-term senator, a former state legislator from Illinois, a Harvard law graduate who has no substantive record of accomplishments and are running against a war hero whom polls show that Americans overwhelmingly view as far more fit to be commander in chief? Pose, of course. What else can a guy like Mr. Obama do? So the man who would be president of the United States of America flies around the world in the middle of a political campaign, enlisting the US military and the Berlin Wall as free campaign commercial backdrops, to lend him the emotional weight and substance - the aura as a commander - that he hasn't yet earned on his own. NBC's Andrea Mitchell was the one journalist with the courage to name what she was actually seeing happen: Mr. Obama faking even being interviewed by the press. "Let me say something about the message management. He didn't have reporters with him, he didn't have a press pool, he didn't do a press conference," either in Afghanistan or Iraq, noted Miss Mitchell on the air. Instead Mr. Obama manufactured "what some would call 'fake interviews,' because they are not interviews from a journalist," Miss Mitchell added.

Playing Innocent Abroad - David Brooks, New York Times opinion

The Berlin blockade was thwarted because people came together. Apartheid ended because people came together and walls tumbled. Winning the cold war was the same: “People of the world,” Obama declared, “look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together and history proved there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.” When I first heard this sort of radically optimistic speech in Iowa, I have to confess my American soul was stirred. It seemed like the overture for a new yet quintessentially American campaign. But now it is more than half a year on, and the post-partisanship of Iowa has given way to the post-nationalism of Berlin, and it turns out that the vague overture is the entire symphony. The golden rhetoric impresses less, the evasion of hard choices strikes one more.

Maliki Votes for Obama - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post opinion

In a stunning upset, Barack Obama this week won the Iraq primary. When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not once but several times expressed support for a US troop withdrawal on a timetable that accorded roughly with Obama's 16-month proposal, he did more than legitimize the plan. He relieved Obama of a major political liability by blunting the charge that, in order to appease the MoveOn left, Obama was willing to jeopardize the astonishing success of the surge and risk losing a war that is finally being won. Maliki's endorsement left the McCain campaign and the Bush administration deeply discomfited. They underestimated Maliki's sophistication and cunning.

‘This Is the Moment’ - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review opinion

Given the size of the audience in Berlin Thursday, the enthusiastic response, and the standard lines about how we-were-, are, and -will-be-friends boilerplate, one wonders whether all it took to win the Euro-hearts and minds was to have a charismatic, multiracial American spice up a standard George W. Bush speech about helping the world, addressing AIDs, more troops in Afghanistan, etc.? So supposedly sophisticated Europeans, who constantly dissect American politics and culture, seem suddenly to like us now, because a younger, more mellifluous figure repackaged the standard American trans-Atlantic rah-rah speech, dressed up with a little Obama messianic sermonizing: “People of Berlin - people of the world - this is our moment. This is our time!” along with some throwaway lines about global warming and Darfur?

Iraqi Victory Fallout? - Austin Bay, Washington Times opinion

Ironically, victory in Iraq could mean defeat for John McCain. Crown the lucky Barack Obama, bury the courageous Mr. McCain. What a fate for a warrior senator who has played a key leadership role in Iraq's emerging victory. But before Mr. Obama declares peace in our time, consider the "Effect on region" paragraph. The Iraqis want an alliance. That means Washington must be prepared to back Iraq in a confrontation with Iran. We know Mr. McCain can handle that dangerous test. In the maelstrom moment when an Obama-advocated rapid military withdrawal would have devastated the Iraqis, Mr. McCain stood firm.

Obama's Fact-Fudging Mission in Iraq - Omar, Iraq the Model

Obama arrived in Iraq on Monday for what is described as a fact-finding mission. However, it’s hard to believe Obama is actually searching for facts in Iraq, nor will the facts he finds change his position. The position he chose for himself, as well as all the comments he has made so far about Iraq, reflect a disregard for facts, and there is no reason to expect a change now. This visit, for Obama, is just a necessary evil - part of an electoral campaign and not a sincere fact-finding mission. The fact that Obama made Afghanistan his first stop (after arriving in Kuwait, just next door to Iraq) suggests that it’s his electoral campaign that sets his priorities when it comes to the war on terrorism, not the actual map and course of the war. Obama is lucky in that his host, Prime Ministe Maliki, is also going through an election season. He’s even luckier that Maliki has been convinced by the close circle around him that Obama is going to win the American presidential race.

McCain Questions Obama's Fitness as CINC - Jim Malone, Voice of America

Republican presidential contender John McCain questioned Democratic candidate Barack Obama's fitness to be commander in chief Friday. McCain made the remarks to a veteran's group in Colorado not long after Obama met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris as part of his trip to Europe and the Middle East. Senator McCain has found it difficult this week to gain much media attention given the avalanche of coverage for Senator Obama's overseas trip. On Friday, McCain continued to hammer away at Obama on the Iraq war, noting that Obama opposed the Bush administration's surge strategy of increased troop strengths in Iraq, a strategy that was initially championed by McCain and only a handful of others in Congress.

Foreign Tour Loses Obama Ground Back Home - Tim Reid, The Times

Barack Obama denied yesterday that he was ignoring the concerns of ordinary Americans while he tours the world, amid signs that the adulation he is receiving abroad has alienated some US voters. After the Democratic presidential candidate holds meetings with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron in London today, the last leg of his nine-day international tour, he returns home to a general election campaign with new polls showing him in a tightening race against John McCain, the Republican candidate.

Milking Failures - David Limbaugh, Washington Times opinion

Isn't it enormously ironic that Sen. Barack Obama now finds himself the unintended beneficiary of the Iraq surge he so vocally - and wrongly - opposed? It seems that Mr. Obama's untimely calls for a withdrawal timetable have lingered long enough to have some merit in the eyes of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Mr. al-Maliki told Der Spiegel, a German magazine, that US troops should withdraw from Iraq "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned. US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." Assuming Mr. al-Maliki said it, and there has been some dispute, it doesn't make Mr. Obama right - even now. But it's hard to imagine Mr. al-Maliki would be saying anything helpful to Mr. Obama's campaign today if the United States had followed Mr. Obama's disgraceful surrender policy instead of implementing the surge in 2007 - over his strenuous objections.

Obama's on a Different Planet - John Bolton, Los Angeles Times opinion

Sen. Barack Obama said in an interview the day after his Berlin speech that it "allowed me to send a message to the American people that the judgments I have made and the judgments I will make are ones that are going to result in them being safer." If that is what the senator thought he was doing, he still has a lot to learn about both foreign policy and the views of the American people. Although well received in the Tiergarten, the Obama speech actually reveals an even more naive view of the world than we had previously been treated to in the United States. In addition, although most of the speech was substantively as content-free as his other campaign pronouncements, when substance did slip in, it was truly radical, from an American perspective. These troubling comments were not widely reported in the generally adulatory media coverage given the speech, but they nonetheless deserve intense scrutiny.

McCain Rejects 'Audacity of Hopelessness' for Iraq

In Paris, Obama Says Pressure on Iran Is Building

McCain Meets Dalai Lama, Presses China on Rights

Obama Interview With Jerusalem Post

Full Text of John McCain's Speech in Denver on July 25

Israeli Paper Publishes Obama Western Wall Prayer

Obama Gets Royal Treatment in France

- With Foe in Limelight, McCain Gets Folksy - Brian Montopoli, CBS News

- He Ventured Forth to Bring Light to the World - Gerard Baker, The Times

- Obama's Unmemorable Berlin Speech - Michael Tomasky, The Guardian

- No Good Reason to Spike McCain's Op-Ed - Dennis Byrne, RealClearPolitics

- Obama's Red State Moves - William Schneider, National Journal

- Rudy's Back! But Will He Run For Gov? - Reid Wilson, Politics Nation

- Obama on Tour: A Successful Speech in Berlin - The Economist

- Playing Innocent Abroad - David Brooks, New York Times

- Number 44 Has Spoken - Gerhard Sporl, Der Spiegel

- A Flat Performance in Berlin - John Cullinan, National Review Online

- Obama Abroad: We Get the Picture - Howard Kurtz, Washington Post

- McCain Struggles to Overcome Economy Gap - David Kuhn, The Politico

- Pride Clouds Obama's Vision - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics

- The Year The Youth Vote Arrives - E. J. Dionne, Washington Post

- Our First Community-Activist President? - Steven Malanga, City Journal

- Obama and the Press Break Up - Gabriel Sherman, The New Republic

- The Presumptive - and Presumptuous - Nominee - Toby Harnden, RCP

- McCain, Obama Running Bad Campaigns - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix

- McCain's Foreign Policy Frustration - Joe Klein, Time

- Maliki Votes for Obama - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post

- The Supreme Court: In the Balance - Stuart Taylor, National Journal

- Baghdad, Berlin, Barack - Wall Street Journal

- Obama Strikes Right Notes - Dallas Morning News

- Why Not Allow a Vote on Drilling? - Washington Post

- Huge Crowds Left with Mixed Feelings - M. Waffel & J. Ward, Spiegel Online

- A World That Stands As One - Senator Barack Obama, Berlin

- McCain Gains in Four Key Battlegrounds - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post

- Media Love of Obama Doesn't Equal Victory - Susan Estrich, Fox News

- John Edwards and the Democratic Ticket - Byron York, The Hill

- Why McCain Should Embrace Withdrawal - Ilan Goldenberg, Amer Prospect

- Europe and Obama: Short-Term Relationship - Josef Joffe, New Republic

- Obama's Idol Status Overseas - Armstrong Williams, Townhall

- 'This Is The Moment' - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

- Obama's Tour de Force - David Broder, Washington Post

- Why Can't Obama Admit the Obvious? The Surge Worked - USA Today

- McCain's Confusion On Iraq - Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune

- A Tale of Two Flip-Floppers - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal

- Obama Needs Europe to Show Restraint - Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg

- Bush Economics Pose Challenge for McCain - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call

- The Democrats' Dilemma - Joel Kotkin, The American

- Voter Unease With Obama Lingers - Gerald Seib & Laura Meckler, WSJ

- Memories of the McCain That Was - Froma Harrop, Providence Journal

- Dreams from Obama - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen

- Black Athletes Paved Way for Obama - Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated

- Eyes on the (Yawn) Prize - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix

- The Soldier Voting Scandal - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times

- Campaigns Are the News, Not Just Obama - Chicago Sun-Times

- Voters Seek Practical Energy Solutions - Detroit News

- On TV, Obama in Presidential Mode - Alessandra Stanley, New York Times

- Obama's Fake World Tour - Maggie Gallagher, Universal Press

- Tongues Wag Over McCain Flubs - Howard Kurtz, Washington Post

- Democrats Shouldn't Get Cocky - John Judis, The New Republic

- Shut Up and Produce Some Oil - Peter Ferrara, American Spectator

- Obama is Wrong on Afghanistan - Juan Cole, Salon

- Obama Shifts Foreign Policy Debate - DeYoung & Weisman, Washington Post

- He's Bob Barr, and He's Running for President - Faye Fiore, LA Times

- The Democrats' Dilemma - Joel Kotkin, The American

- Dueling Misjudgments on Iraq - Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer

- Media is Only Biased for a Big Story - Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune

- A Campaign Driven by Fear - Robert Scheer, San Francisco Chronicle

- Less Iraq, More Afghanistan - Geoffrey Garrett, The Age

- McCain's Foreign Policy Woes - Mark Mellman, The Hill

- Obama's Historical Dyslexia - Mark Davis, Dallas Morning News

- On Israel, A Tale of Two Obamas - Michael Oren, The New Republic

- McCain Must Be Wary of Hillaryitis - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

- McCain Was Right on Surge, But Story Has Shifted - Tom Friedman, NYT

- Behind Maliki's Games - Max Boot, Washington Post

- Sloppy Attacks Aren't Helping McCain - John Dickerson, Slate

- The Media Gets a Tingling Up Its Leg - John Kass, Chicago Tribune

- Obama: Cocky or Commander in Chiefly? - Maureen Dowd, New York Times

- What Obama Could Learn on Vacation - David Harsanyi, Denver Post

- Israel Has No Reason to Fear Obama - Jack Rosen, Jerusalem Post

- Is Jindal the One Republicans Are Waiting For? - Kathleen Parker, RCP

- Romney: A Mistake for McCain - Dick Morris, The Hill

- Mr. Obama in Iraq - Washington Post

- McCain's Iraq Dilemma - Ross Douthat, The Atlantic

- Voters Still Hesitant About Obama - Charlie Cook, National Journal

- Is the 'Toss-Up' Race an Illusion? - Michael Grunwald, Time

- McCain's Mettle - Stuart Koehl, Weekly Standard

- A Conversation with U.S. Senator Jim Webb - Charlie Rose Show

- Obama Shows Hawkish Side On Mideast Trip - Brian Montopoli, CBS News

- Barack and the Dollar - Joshua Zumbrun & Brian Wingfield, Forbes

- McCain's War on Women - Kate Sheppard, In These Times

- Obama's High-Wire Act - RIchard Wolffe, Newsweek

- Obama's Overseas Education - Ralph Peters, New York Post

- Back Obama for Commander-in-Chief - Gideon Rachman, Financial Times

- Obama's Head in the Sand - Pete Hegseth, National Review

- McCain's Courting the Wrong Voters - Pat Buchanan, Pitt Trib-Review

- Afghanistan Doesn't Need a 'Surge' - Ann Marlowe, Wall Street Journal

- Why Jesse Jackson Hates Obama - Shelby Steele, Wall Street Journal

- Obama's Iraq Mission - E. J. Dionne, Washington Post

- Getting Iraq Right - Senator John McCain, New York Post

- Is the Media Trying to Elect Obama? - Dee Dee Myers, Vanity Fair

- Eventually, We'll All Hate Obama Too - David Aaronovitch, London Times

- Meet the High Priest of the McCain Cult - Michael Crowley, New Republic

- Swing State Review: Ohio, Part II - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics

- The Need for a New Social Compact - Marie Cocco, Indianapolis Star

- Who's Afraid of Jimmy Carter? - Amy Wilentz, New York Magazine

- A Presidential Primer on the Mideast Conflict - Richard Boudreaux, LAT

- Obama Under the Microscope in Israel - Nathan Diament, RealClearPolitics

Obama Wraps Up Foreign Tour in London - Sonja Pace, Voice of America

Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, held talks with British leaders in London on Saturday as he wound up a foreign tour that took him to Afghanistan, Iraq, other parts of the the Middle East and Europe. Barak Obama met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for nearly two hours at number 10 Downing Street and then stepped outside to talk to the press, about what he said had been a "terrific conversation." "The prime minister's emphasis, like mine, is how we can strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship, solve problems that can't be solved by any single country individually, climate change, the issue of international terrorism, some of the issues surrounding financial markets," he said. He also thanked Britain for its contribution in Afghanistan.

What Did Obama Learn in Iraq? - John Dickerson, Slate opinion

Barack Obama's trip to Iraq was so presidential that at moments, he sounded like our current White House resident. When Karen Tumulty of Time asked Obama what he'd learned on his trip, he said, "It confirmed a lot of my beliefs." Lara Logan of CBS asked him if he was ever in doubt that he could lead the country in war as commander in chief, and he answered, "Never." After seven and a half years of George Bush, we should pause when a man auditioning for president says that the facts confirmed his beliefs and that he's never in doubt. As Obama himself has warned us at other moments, these are signs that a fearless leader may be letting ideology or rigidity steer him in the wrong direction. We know, of course, that Barack Obama, in fact, goes through life thinking in subtle, nuanced, and interesting ways. He's probably got lots of complex input from his visit to Iraq that he's dissecting and analyzing. But he's not sharing much. And what he has shared on the occasion of his big trip hasn't been very nourishing.

A Change Election Abroad, Too - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post opinion

John McCain's prisoner-of-war experience is a strong selling point for him in this American election. But it is a powerful drag on his popularity in Europe, where past U.S. involvement in Vietnam still generates intensely negative feelings. Barack Obama's flirtation with protectionism similarly divides opinion at home and abroad. His attacks on NAFTA helped him compete for the Democratic nomination. But they cause important foreign partners such as Mexico, China and Japan to wonder if an Obama presidency would be good for them. The world is very much with Americans in this thoroughly unorthodox year. Foreign leaders traditionally complain that they cannot vote in our presidential elections even though their nations' fortunes frequently depend on the outcome. This year they get a say of a sort in a campaign in which foreign policy is both urgent and important.

• Obama's World Tour
  • Did He Hit the Mark?
  • The Audacity of Hubris
  • Gaffe-Free, Picture-Perfect
  • Obama: Trip Reinforced Views
• More Race for White House
  • Obama: Final Force Size in Iraq Will Be 'Entirely Conditions-Based'
  • McCain Battles Uphill in PA
  • Challenges Await Obama at Home
  • Obama's Brain: Valerie Jarrett
• Troop Visit Flap
  • Mac Rips Obama For Nixing Visit
  • Launches Ad: 'Troops'
  • Obama Campaign Responds

Arrogance Won't Win the Election
- Susan Estrich, Fox News
One World? Obama on a Different Planet
- John Bolton, Los Angeles Times
Narrow Lists of VP Prospects
- Monica Langley, Wall Street Journal
Romney's Value
- Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times