Iraq Fact Check from Obama Campaign

FACT CHECK – Obama: There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until Bush and McCain led us to war there

“So I heard that Senator McCain said this morning that he had some news for me –al Qaeda is in Iraq. Well first of all, I know that, and that's why I've said we should continue to strike al Qaeda targets. But I've got some news for him. There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain took us into a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged. They took our eye off the people who were responsible for 9/11, and that would be al Qaeda in Afghanistan, that is stronger now than at any time since 2001. So John McCain may like to say that he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the Gates of Hell, but so far all he's done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq that has cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars and that I intend to bring to end so we can actually start going after al Qaeda in Afghanistan and in the hills of Pakistan, like we should have been doing in the first place. That's the news, John McCain,” said Barack Obama.

FACT: Barack Obama has always said he would maintain the capability to strike al Qaeda in Iraq after a withdrawal of U.S. combat brigades.

Obama in his August 1, 2007 speech, “The War We Need to Win”

“That is why my plan would maintain sufficient forces in the region to target al Qaeda within Iraq. But we must recognize that al Qaeda is not the primary source of violence in Iraq, and has little support…. On the contrary, al Qaeda's appeal within Iraq is enhanced by our troop presence. Ending the war will help isolate al Qaeda and give Iraqis the incentive and opportunity to take them out. It will also allow us to direct badly needed resources to Afghanistan.”

Obama in his September 12, 2007 speech, “Turning the Page in Iraq”

“We will need to retain some forces in Iraq and the region. We'll continue to strike at al Qaeda in Iraq.”

FACT: Barack Obama was referring to a specific hypothetical scenario outlined by Tim Russert in the Democratic debate

RUSSERT: I want to ask both of you this question, then. If this scenario plays out and the Americans get out in totality, and Al Qaida resurges and Iraq goes to hell, do you hold the right in your mind as American president to reinvade, to go back into Iraq to stabilize it?

OBAMA: …. Now, I always reserve the right for the president -- as commander in chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we are looking out for American interests. And if al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad. So that is true, I think, not just in Iraq, but that's true in other places. That's part of my argument with respect to Pakistan.

FACT: Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, and al Qaeda was not using Iraq as a base of operations before the Iraq War.

The 9/11 Commission found that al Qaeda had no “collaborative operational relationship with Iraq. Nor have we seen evidence indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States.” Furthermore, the Commission found that the evidence does not support the claim made by Administration officials that Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence officials in Prague.

A 2003 CIA report found that there were, “simple declarative accusations of Iraq-al Qa'ida complicity with no substantiating detail or other information that might help us corroborate them.”

A report issued by the State Department in October 2001 listed 45 countries “where al Qaeda or affiliated groups have operated” including Afghanistan, Germany, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Iraq was not on the list.

FACT: George Bush has failed to bring Osama bin Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the core of al Qaeda's leadership to justice since 9/11.

Bush Failed to Capture Bin Laden: It has been widely reported that Osama bin Laden escaped across the border into Pakistan in 2002, when President Bush failed to commit sufficient ground forces to Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported in April 2002: “The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge.”

FACT: The Bush-McCain war diverted resources from the fight against al Qaeda

Substantial military, intelligence, and diplomatic resources were shifted from Afghanistan and the hunt for bin Laden to the disastrous war in Iraq. These resources shortchanged our efforts to bring to justice the people responsible for 9/11, and have left the American people less safe. As the New York Times reported last summer

“Throughout late 2002 and early 2003, Mr. Grenier said in an interview, “the best experienced, most qualified people who we had been using in Afghanistan shifted over to Iraq,” including the agency's most skilled counterterrorism specialists and Middle East and paramilitary operatives…. “If we were not in Iraq, we would have double or triple the number of Predators across Afghanistan, looking for Taliban and peering into the tribal areas. We'd have the ‘black' Special Forces you most need to conduct precision operations. We'd have more C.I.A. We're simply in a world of limited resources, and those resources are in Iraq,” the former official added. “Anyone who tells you differently is blowing smoke.”

FACT: High-level al Qaeda terrorist groups are currently threatening the American homeland from a sanctuary in northwest Pakistan.

The NIE in July 2007 warned of a reconstituted al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan: "Al-Qa'ida is and will remain the most serious terrorist threat to the Homeland, as its central leadership continues to plan high-impact plots, while pushing others in extremist Sunni communities to mimic its efforts and to supplement its capabilities. We assess the group has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability, including: a safehaven in the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), operational lieutenants, and its top leadership. Although we have discovered only a handful of individuals in the United States with ties to al-Qa'ida senior leadership since 9/11, we judge that al-Qa'ida will intensify its efforts to put operatives here.