Obama to Question Petraeus This Afternoon
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama returns to his "day job" in the Senate today, where he will attend the Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iraq with Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker. This morning, Obama blamed Iraq for distracting the Bush Administration from more pertinent issues such as the economy and the environment.
"Let me remind just remind you, if we can spend $400 million dollars a day in Iraq rebuilding Baghdad if we can spend $10 billion a month rebuilding foreign nation we can spend $10 billion right here in the United States," Obama told the Communications Workers of America Union today.
Obama is expected to press Petraeus and Crocker on the Iraq war's impact on national security and military readiness. He will also discuss the need to pressure the Iraqi government to take a more active role in shaping the country's future.
While on the campaign trail, Obama has continuously emphasized that he is the only current candidate for president who opposed the Iraq war in 2002. He has argued that this demonstrates his ability to lead.
"Just in case you're wondering who you want to answer that phone call at 3 a.m. in the morning, there are 3 candidates left and I think you might want the one who's going to read the intelligence reports and ask some tough questions before authorizing war and to have the judgment to weigh the costs and benefits of any military action. There are 3 candidates left and there's one that already showed the good judgment, you might want to consider that one to answer that phone call."
Obama has repeatedly argued that John McCain will keep troops in Iraq for 100 years, a claim that the McCain campaign disputes.
Obama returns to the campaign trail tomorrow, with scheduled stops in Pennsylvania and Indiana.