Obama on Afghanistan

Senator Obama Criticizes Bush White House on Afghanistan Policy:

HOWEVER, The Junior Senator From Illinois Has Held Zero Hearings As Chairman Of The Subcommittee On European Affairs. "Doubts about Barack Obama's presidential credentials have crystallized during the past two weeks over his stewardship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs, which has convened no policy hearings since he took over as its chairman last January." (Joe Conason, "Obama's European Problem," www.salon.com, 12/29/07)

Obama Could Have Held Hearings On The Role Of NATO In Afghanistan. "[A]mbassador John Ritch, who served for two decades as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's senior staffer on European affairs and East-West relations ... [P]oints out that as subcommittee chair, Obama could have examined a wide variety of urgent matters, from the role of NATO in Afghanistan and Iraq to European energy policy and European responses to climate change..." (Joe Conason, "Obama's European Problem," www.salon.com, 12/29/07)

CNN's Lou Dobbs: "The reality is this man for 13 months has had a responsibility to hold oversight hearings on Afghanistan and the conduct of that war and has not done so." (CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," 2/27/08)

Obama's Campaign Defended His Lack Of Oversight By Noting His Trip To Iraq, But Obama Skipped The Opportunity To Visit Afghanistan