Boehner to Obama: Iraq and Afghanistan need more than ‘campaign promises’

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) urged President Obama to do
more to show his commitment to success in Afghanistan and Iraq besides
using campaign promises of meeting withdrawal deadlines. 

The
top-ranking House Republican spoke to a veterans group in Wisconsin on Tuesday,
where he criticized the administration’s national security credentials
ahead of Obama’s Oval Office address Tuesday night.

{mosads}”I support
our counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, but the president must
do more to emphasize his commitment to ensuring its success rather than
focusing on arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal. And he must also place
a greater emphasis on ensuring successful implementation of both the
military and civilian components of his strategy.

“Using campaign
promises as a yardstick to measure success in Iraq and Afghanistan runs
the risk of triggering artificial victory laps and premature withdrawal
dates unconnected to conditions on the ground,” Boehner said.

He also warned of negative consequences if Obama insists on sticking to a hard withdrawal date of July 2011 in Afghanistan.

The speech was Boehner’s second major policy address in recent weeks. In a speech last week he called for Obama’s top economic advisers to resign.

Tuesday
marked the end of combat operations in Iraq, and Boehner said the
success there came over the objections of key Democratic voices, who
were opposed to the 2007 surge strategy championed by then-President
George W. Bush.

“Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and
fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim
credit for the results,” Boehner told the participants at the 92nd
annual American Legion convention in Milwaukee.

The Ohio lawmaker choked up at points during the
nearly 30-minute address, especially when he recounted the words of his
former personal assistant’s husband, who died in the battle of Fallujah
in 2006. 

“He left behind a letter to his family to be read in case of his death.
In the letter, Sergeant [Daniel] Clay wrote: ‘What we have done in Iraq is worth
any sacrifice. Why? Because it was our duty. That sounds simple. But
all of us have a duty. Duty is defined as a God-given task. Without
duty, life is worthless.’ This Marine understood his duty to God and
country. We as elected leaders must understand ours as well,” the
highest-ranking House Republican managed to say as he held back a sob.

Boehner also said that “today we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated — but
progress. And I want to thank President Obama for setting aside his
past political rhetoric and recognizing the importance of the surge and
the diplomatic agreement signed by President Bush and [Iraqi] Prime
Minister [Nouri al-] Maliki,” which was met by applause from the vets
in the crowd.

Obama’s Oval Office speech Tuesday night is expected to address America’s presence in the region.

“As
both a candidate and president, I promised to bring the war in Iraq to
a responsible end,” Obama said in a video message posted Monday on the
White House website. “Now we are taking an important step forward in
delivering on that promise.”

—This article was originally posted at 1:31 p.m. and updated at 5:12 p.m.