Had he simply said he "suggests" we should double our deployment, then I might agree it was rhetoric but since he specified a figure, I can only deduce he is needs a whack from a clue-by-four.
IIRC, that 20,000 figure refers to the increase in troop numbers that Bush is pushing for, sort of a "if Howard thinks there should be another 20,000 troops in Iraq, he can send his own troops and see how it plays with his electorate". I wasn't entirely impressed with Obama's comment either, but it was pretty clearly for local consumption.
It doesn't serve anyone to have a (potential) leader of arguably the most powerful nation in the world, who knows so little about the rest of the world, and in particular one of its fucking allies
Why change what's been working so well for the last 7 years?
IIRC, that 20,000 figure refers to the increase in troop numbers that Bush is pushing for, sort of a "if Howard thinks there should be another 20,000 troops in Iraq, he can send his own troops and see how it plays with his electorate". I wasn't entirely impressed with Obama's comment either, but it was pretty clearly for local consumption.
That's how moonlit reads Obama's comment too. It's more than likely the truth but in my irascible mind, it still smacks of a foot-in-mouth reaction.
FTR: The figure for the increase of US personnel is 21,500. Obama's quote states the US has, "...close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1400...". A note to Mr Obama and his staff: the US has a population of approximately 301,155,237, which is rising by 1 roughly every 12 seconds [link] . Australia has a population of approximately 20,754,774 [link] , which is rising by 1 roughly every 2 minutes. Doesn't take a mathematician to determine who has the greater commitment in Iraq.
FTR: The figure for the increase of US personnel is 21,500. Obama's quote states the US has, "...close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1400...". A note to Mr Obama and his staff: the US has a population of approximately 301,155,237, which is rising by 1 roughly every 12 seconds [link] . Australia has a population of approximately 20,754,774 [link] , which is rising by 1 roughly every 2 minutes. Doesn't take a mathematician to determine who has the greater commitment in Iraq.
This is true, and the more so since it was the decision of the American President to initiate the war and subsequent occupation. On a per capita basis, America's commitment of troops is something like six times that of Australia.
Hey, at least Obama can find Australia on a map....
Hey, at least Obama can find Australia on a map....
Hmm. To play fair, I suppose I should practise finding Obama on a map.
£ Hey, it worked that time! Thanks, Fiona.
On a per capita basis, America's commitment of troops is something like six times that of Australia.
Maths has never been my strong point but I do believe I'm getting stupider as I get older.
Holy crap. This is just boggling my mind.
(And I'm trying to find the SMG photo that her image reminds me of - I'm thinking it's a season 2 or possibly 3 photoshoot, although it could be season 1...)
