I saw a recent speach by Bill Clinton . . . he is an order of magnitude better than his wife any day. He understands what is happening in Iraq, and clearly wants them to win their struggle, because it is good for America and the world.
His comments also implied an acceptable level of violence in Iraq, below which Iraqis would have to reduce violence on their own.
His comments on Iraq were:
We have trained and equipped a capable army and police force, a somewhat functioning elected government, and have successfully reduced violence significantly. It is time to force Iraqis to make difficult decisions, and reduce their reliance on America. Iraq is like a neighbor whose house burnt down 5 years ago. Anyone would let such a neighbor crash at their place for 6 months, because we have a heart. But after 5 years, the issue is not the fire any more.
At the same time, Pres Clinton clearly wanted Iraqis to win (was emotionally vested in victory in his body language--even though it seemed like Hillary had pressed him to try to hold it in), and asked everyone in the audience to root for Iraqi victory.
President Clinton was obviously emotionally vested in defeating extremists around the world. It seems like Hillary might be de-facto pretty hawkish if her husband is anything to go by. (while redefining combat troops as noncombat troops.}
It felt good to see President Clinton speaking like an American rather than a partisan. {He also kept talking about how Hillary and McCain had worked together on the environment, improving the military, and many other issues . . . I got the sense that the audience wasn't all that excited this . . . Bill has an issue staying within guidance.}
However, this is probably irrelevant.
Obama has a ninety percent chance of being the Democratic Nominee at this point (based on the futures markets.)
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