Reply #230: I agree with Mr. Murtha in terms of our force posture in Iraq...

[Senator Obama]

I did not support the Iraq invasion and do not support the Iraq war. I thought it quite unnecessary. But you'd be making a serious mistake if you think that Murtha's public pronouncements will have any impact on the policy and decision makers who will execute this battle plan if necessary. Rest assured that most of what is needed here is surgical strikes from assets already in place or readily available. A full on invasion is neither necesary or anticipated.

I guess you think that our attack subs cannot navigate the area. I can assure you we have the necessary capabiliities to ensure that the Straights remain unblocked. Since the onset of the Gulf war the US and coaltion partners...yes that would be the santimonious Canucks even, have had an active board and search program as well as an heightened presence in the area. If a Manta Ray moves in that part of the world, we'll know about it.

Nobody sane would be unafraid to go to war. I personally hope we never do. I hope that Iran will do what is right and remove all pretext for military engagement. My comments on this thread are not about being gung ho about war. They are challenging what I believe is some very naive wishful thinking on the parts of people whose opinions will not factor into a strategic and tactical military plan. I guess if a waring nation were concerned foremost with sustaining casuaties, nobody would go to war. Wouldn't that be great. But as peacenik said in another post on this thread, these folks are not afraid to die. All the more reason why you need to make sure that they are allowed limited access to WMD technology.

Obama