Now I’m confused. After the Obama campaign confirmed Amir Taheri’s allegation that Obama tried to stall negotiations with Iraq, I thought the matter was settled. But now some Republicans who were in a position to know what happened are defending Obama. (Via Instapundit.)
So what really happened? If the allegation isn’t true, why didn’t Obama deny it categorically, instead of issuing a non-denial “denial” that actually confirmed the central allegation? I don’t get it.
One possible explanation is that Hagel is a semi-supporter of Obama. Another is that Tapper’s story has no direct quotes from Hagel, so maybe it’s not even accurate. Neither explanation seems convincing to me, though.
The press doesn’t seem much inclined to investigate, so unless Taheri moves the ball with another story of his own, I doubt we’ll get to the bottom of it. As things stand, the waters are sufficiently muddy that I don’t think the issue is of much use to McCain.
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