Pentagon: It Was Obama Camp's "Decision To Cancel" Visit to Troops

By: Maria Gavrilovic
Topics: Barack Obama

(CBS)

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(BERLIN,GERMANY) UPDATE, 1:30pm ET Barack Obama spent the morning working in his room at Berlin's Adelon Hotel after the campaign canceled a planned visit to Ramstein Airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Late last night, the campaign canceled the planned troop visit because they said they did not want to politicize the meeting.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told CBS News today, "The senator is more than welcome to visit any military facility, he always has been and always will be, as a senator."

"The Pentagon was willing to accomodate the fact they were on a campaign trip," Morrell added, saying that the Pentagon would have kept the campaign staff and traveling press outside while Obama was inside visiting the troops.

"It was their decision to cancel the visit," Morrell said.

On today's flight from Berlin to Paris, Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs tried to clarify why the meeting at Ramstein was canceled. "He could go as a United States Senator, but it was pretty clear from the guidance that we received from the Pentagon that the trip would be viewed as a campaign stop. Given the info that we had received, Senator Obama made the decision that we were not going have wounded men and women become involved in a campaign trip."

Initially, Gibbs said Obama thought it would be "inappropriate" to visit troops on a visit funded by the campaign. The troop meetings in Afghanistan and Iraq were part of a congressional delegation trip, not paid for by the campaign.

This morning, senior adviser Gen. Scott Gration shifted the blame to the Pentagon, saying they advised the campaign against the visit.

"We learned from the Pentagon last night that the visit would be viewed instead as a campaign event," Gration said. "Senator Obama did not want to have a trip to see our wounded warriors percieved as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go." Gration is currently traveling with the campaign.

After the cancellation was announced yesterday, a McCain spokesman hammered Obama in a written statement: "Barack Obama is wrong. It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military."

Gibbs responded to the criticism this morning saying, "We might have gotten criticism for going, we have been critcized for not going."

CBS News' Steve Chaggaris contributed to this report.

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by vincan-2009 July 28, 2008 2:44 AM EDT: How dare you besmirch Senator Obama''s prayer at the wall that was not to be viewed at all by anyone!! You are low, lower than low. You are pathetic.; Reply to this comment


by vincan-2009 July 28, 2008 2:38 AM EDT: You do not know what you are talking about. McCain was in Germany in March and a lot closer to the military hospital than Senator Obama and did not visit or ever plan it in his schedule. Obama has visited wounded troops in the U.S. at Walter Reed several times. He visited the wounded troops in Iraq when he was there last week. There are no shots of that being played anywhere because Senator Obama went unobserved and visited with no press and no big deal. You may try as much as you want but McCain is the one who comes up short with his angry ranting and this ad that is a big lie and the McCain campaign knows it..; Reply to this comment


by howdydoody6 July 28, 2008 12:04 AM EDT: Thats a big lie that the Pentagon told Obama that the trip to visit the troops and the wounded soldiers would violate a pentagon policy. All Obama had to do if he really "cared" about our military troops is explain how important it was to show them how much he supported them and tell them what a wonderful job they were doing but the truth is he could care less about our soldiers. To this day he will not admit that the surge is working when he said it wouldn''t, he doesn''t have the brains to think through how dangerous it will be to pull the troops out in 16 months like he wants to even though he''s been told over and over again. How many members of our troops and wounded soldiers plus their family members do you think are going to vote for him? Does he think they are so stupid that they can''t see him for what he is?? Howdydoody6 July 27; Reply to this comment


by tbweb July 27, 2008 5:34 AM EDT: Another non issue blown out of proportion! I guess when people don''t have anything of substance to trash Sen. Obama with anything will do. Sen. Obama was going to take a hit on this issue either way, so the smart thing to do would have been to visit the troops, get the credit and then take the hit for using the visit as a campaign stop. The old catch-22, dammed if he did, dammed if he didn''t! A no win situation.; Reply to this comment


by johnbush2-2009 July 27, 2008 1:42 AM EDT: The overseas trip was a complete waste of time and money. The only thing Obama accomplished was organising a free rock concert for German teenagers. Most of them stayed behind to thank him and get the freebies that his campaign volunteers were giving out. Big deal.; Reply to this comment


by grammawhamma July 26, 2008 8:50 PM EDT: Over enthusiasm from the point of self righteous political interests without extending support for troops by not visiting them is a direct insult to America. Obama is not ready to lead, not ready to change, not ready to be a commander, he is only ready to toot his own horn. That is not "Service to Americans" that is AUDACITY.

Posted by Ariel133 at 01:35 PM : Jul 25, 2008

I thought the above post was worth repeating.

If Obama couldn''t use the wounded troops for a photo shoot I guess he didn''t want to be bothered by them. I''m glad the media is giving Obama all the attention because the more I see of him...the more he convinces me he is not worthy to be POTUS.; Reply to this comment


by dnsallday July 26, 2008 5:33 PM EDT: Barack Obama canceled a pre-planned visit to the troops in Germany yesterday after being told by the Pentagon that the trip would violate a Pentagon policy prohibiting campaign stops on military installations. No problem there.

However, the McCain campaign is now blasting Obama:

The McCain camp has nonetheless been using Obama''s canceled trip to insinuate that he''s anti-troops. "Barack Obama is wrong," McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers said in a statement yesterday. "It is never ''inappropriate'' to visit our men and women in the military."

The problem here is that the McCain campaign was denied a visit to a military base under the same policy back in April.
Of course, there was no outcry or false outrage from Brian Rogers at that time.

From CNN:

With Department of Defense rules prohibiting political campaigning on military bases, it was determined that in some cases McCain could visit the installations as a senator but could not engage in any political activity or have news media present.

McCain campaign officials said Thursday they intentionally did not campaign on military property.

"We follow the rules," said senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt; Reply to this comment


by tbweb July 26, 2008 4:12 PM EDT: Free Concert by Popular Band Preceded Obama%u2019s Big Rally
By Robert Knight

From CNN to the New York Times, the media hyped Barack Obama''''s Portland, Oregon rally on Sunday, some comparing him to a rock star.

Unmentioned in national reporting was the fact that Obama was preceded by a rare, 45-minute free concert by actual rock stars The Decemberists.

There was no mention of The Decemberists, and the Times described the weather as "an unseasonably hot day."

Posted by Alicerea1 at 06:33 AM : Jul 26, 2008,,,

It`s not that unusual to have live entertainment to keep extraordinarily large crowds entertained. Your implied suggestion that the "only" reason for the large crowd was because of the entertainment and not to see Sen. Obama is bogus since Sen. Obama always draws large crowds. If Sen. Obama didn`t always draw a large crowd your argument might have some weight to it, but Sen. Obama gets the nod in this case because he always draws a large crowd, with or without entertainment!; Reply to this comment


by alicerea1 July 26, 2008 9:33 AM EDT: Free Concert by Popular Band Preceded Obama%u2019s Big Rally
By Robert Knight

From CNN to the New York Times, the media hyped Barack Obama''s Portland, Oregon rally on Sunday, some comparing him to a rock star.

Unmentioned in national reporting was the fact that Obama was preceded by a rare, 45-minute free concert by actual rock stars The Decemberists.

There was no mention of The Decemberists, and the Times described the weather as "an unseasonably hot day."; Reply to this comment


by alicerea1 July 26, 2008 9:33 AM EDT: Free Concert by Popular Band Preceded Obama%u2019s Big Rally
By Robert Knight

From CNN to the New York Times, the media hyped Barack Obama''s Portland, Oregon rally on Sunday, some comparing him to a rock star.

Unmentioned in national reporting was the fact that Obama was preceded by a rare, 45-minute free concert by actual rock stars The Decemberists.

There was no mention of The Decemberists, and the Times described the weather as "an unseasonably hot day."; Reply to this comment