Obama and Hillary Spin a 'Big Lie' About Iraq

Obama and Hillary Spin a 'Big Lie' About Iraq | War on Iraq | AlterNet: "On the campaign trail, the two candidates often speak of bringing the troops home and ending the war, and Democratic primary voters, 80 percent of whom want U.S. troops out of Iraq within 12 months, reward them with boisterous applause.

It's a Big Lie, and everyone who follows the debates over U.S. policy towards Iraq knows it, but refuses to call the candidates on it. Both Clinton and Obama (PDF) have been very clear -- in the fine print -- about the fact that they will leave a significant number of 'residual forces' in Iraq, albeit with a more limited mission than the Bush administration has pursued. They would protect U.S. infrastructure and personnel -- Obama says 'the U.S. embassy' -- train Iraqi forces and retain a rapid-response force to conduct 'limited counter-terrorism' missions."