Even Though He's Failed To Do So As A Senator
In His Remarks On Iraq Today, Obama Claimed That He Would Give The Military "The Support It Needs" As President:
Obama: "As Commander in Chief, I will begin by giving a military overstretched by Iraq the support it needs." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)
Obama Claimed That There Is "A Gap Between The Rhetoric Of Those Who Tout Their Support For Our Troops, And
The Overburdened State Of Our Military." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)
Obama Previously Said He Would Support The Troops By Providing Funding For Their Mission:
Obama: "[W]hat you don't want to do is to play chicken with the President, and create a situation in which, potentially, you don't have body armor, you don't have reinforced Humvees, you don't have night-vision goggles." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 3/28/07)
Obama: "I don't know anybody in Congress who's willing to strand troops that are in Iraq to make sure that they have the resources. We want to make sure they have the capacity to carry out their mission and to come home safely." (NBC's "The Today Show," 1/11/07)
Obama: "Because at that point, you've got hundreds of thousands of young men and women who have to carry out the mission on behalf of the American people. ... And what I wanted to make sure of was that they had the night vision goggles they needed, the Humvees that they needed and I also felt, and I've continued to feel this way, that if we could create some semblance of stability and success in Iraq, that would be a good thing." (ABC's "This Week," 5/13/07)
But Obama Later Voted Against Providing Funding For The Troops And Promised To Continue Doing So:
Obama Voted Against Providing $94.4 Billion In Critical Funding For The Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan. (H.R. 2206, CQ Vote #181: Passed 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10; I 1-1, 5/24/07, Obama Voted Nay)
Obama Voted Against $70 Billion In Emergency Iraq And Afghanistan Funding. (S. 2340, CQ Vote #410: Rejected 45-53: R 44-3; D 0-49; I 1-1, 11/16/07, Obama Voted Nay)
Obama: "If there is a funding bill that does not have a timetable for when we begin withdrawal, and the completion -- a plan for how that withdrawal will proceed -- I will not support it." (Teddy Davis, Jonathan Greenberger, and Donna Hunter, "Clinton, Obama Take No Funding Pledge," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 9/17/07)
