I keep hearing how Barack Obama is a thoughtful guy, and he seems nice enough. But sometimes it seems like he’s thinking out loud, or recommending policies, and then thinking of the ramifications later…

Other aspects of his policy also remain unclear. While Obama said he hoped to withdraw all American combat forces within 16 months of taking office he also said in the interview that American and allied troops should be prepared to return to Iraq and protect civilians if there was genocidal attacks against civilians. A mission to squelch possible genocide after an American troops withdrawal goes beyond anything Clinton has proposed. Obama argued that it was “too speculative” to say if the United States would undertake such action unilaterally or only if allied nations participated.

Hmm. Leave Iraq, but return if there are genocidal attacks against civilians. I gotta say, I don’t think I would bet the house against that scenario, or at least not yet. Wouldn’t it be easier to, you know, try to leave something of a sustainably stable state behind instead, like we’re currently doing?

Obama also said he would try to discourage an escalation of sectarian killing after American forces left Iraq by making clear that the United States would investigate war crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable.
But aides to Obama have also emphasized that apprehending war criminals would not be taken on through a new military mission, leaving unclear how such criminals might be detained.

War crimes investigations always show up long after all the bodies are cold. How this would “discourage sectarian killing”, without much sense of how it would be enforced, is beyond me.