Put up or shut up, Obama tells

[Guest guest]

And really, would we expect any other kind of immature response from

this freshman with absolutely no political experience (except for

corruption in his home state)?

Is it really in the interest of the possible next President of the

United States of America to snub the Prime Minister of Australia

before he is even elected?

Remember folks, this is the man the Democrats are going to ask you

to vote for in the upcoming election.

And if the Democrats DO vote Obama into office, this is how the

Aussies will feel about the Democrats:

" If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around

March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory,

not only for Obama but also for the Democrats,'' Mr said.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21210989-1702,00.html

Put up or shut up, Obama tells

By and Veness in Los Angeles

February 12, 2007 01:32pm

US presidential candidate Barack Obama has told Prime Minister

to put up or shut up.

Mr Obama, speaking at a packed press conference in Iowa today, said

if Mr was concerned about the situation in Iraq he should send

20,000 Australian troops to the strife-torn nation.

The Illinois senator added that if Mr did not send the

troops, then the prime minister's attack on the Democrat

presidential hopeful's Iraq policy was " empty rhetoric''.

" I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops on the

ground now and my understanding is that Mr has deployed

1400,''Mr Obama, who next year could become the first African

American to be elected US president, said.

" So, if he's ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would

suggest he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them up to

Iraq.

" Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric.''

Mr sparked the war of words yesterday when he took the

extraordinary step of declaring that he hoped Mr Obama did not

become president of the US, and that his election would be

disastrous for the war on terrorism.

Mr said Mr Obama's plan to pull America's combat brigades out

of Iraq by March 31, 2008, was a strategy that would " destabilise

and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the

terrorists''.

" If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around

March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory,

not only for Obama but also for the Democrats,'' Mr said.

Mr 's comments came a day after Mr Obama officially launched

his US presidential campaign and the clash quickly became one of the

top news stories in the US.

Spokesman for Mr Obama, Gibbs, travelling with the senator in

Iowa, told American reporters Mr should contribute more

Australian troops " so some American troops can come home''.

" It's easy to talk tough when it's not your country or your troops

making the sacrifices,'' Mr Gibbs said.

Mr 's attack also drew criticism from other senior US

Democrats.

Oregon senator Ron Wyden said: " The most charitable thing you can

say about Mr 's comment is bizarre''.

" We'll make our own judgments in this country with respect to

elections and Barack Obama is a terrific public servant.''

Mr Obama and Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic

National Convention, noted Mr 's close relationship with

Republican president W Bush.

" I think it's flattering that one of Bush's allies on the

other side of the world started attacking me the day after I

announced,'' Mr Obama said.

" I take that as a compliment.''

Mr also managed to upset at least one Republican senator.

" I would prefer that Mr stay out of our domestic politics and

we will stay out of his domestic politics,'' Texas Republican

senator Cornyn said.

Mr Obama, 45, is the top challenger to Hillary Rodham Clinton to be

the Democratic Party's candidate for next year's US presidential

election.

Mr Obama has vowed to end the Iraq war if elected president.

Mr 's comments received plenty of airplay in the US, with 24-

hour news channels CNN and Fox News regularly running reports about

the war of words.

But he appeared unrepentant today, saying Mr Obama had failed to

address the substance of the war in Iraq.

" I think the most interesting thing about (Senator Obama's comments)

is that it didn't really address the substance of the issue,''

told ABC Radio.