Those are the words of a senior Iraqi official. Here’s what else he had to say:

“As far as he is concerned, this is Bush’s war and must end in lack of success, if not actual defeat.”

That’s the impression that a man who would be our next president left the people that we are trying to establish in their own government. Here’s what other officials had to say:

“He looked like a man in a hurry,” a source close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said last week. “He was not interested in what we had to say.”

Publicly the officials agreed with Obama’s assessment of the surge but privately, they admitted the truth:

In private, though, Iraqi officials admit that Obama’s analysis is “way off the mark.” Without the surge, the Sunni tribes wouldn’t have switched sides to help flush out al Qaeda. And the strong US military presence enabled the new Iraqi army to defeat Iran-backed Shiite militias in Basra and Baghdad.
Nevertheless, in public at least, no Iraqi politician wants to appear more appreciative of American sacrifices than the man who may become the next US president.

Yeah, why should they build up our military if the man who wants to be president tears them down.
Good work, Obama! Really a great way to demonstrate what kind of commander in chief you’ll be.
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