White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett was tasked with listing some of the ways President Obama made good on his promise to bring “hope and change” to America during her interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” this weekend. She cited a declining unemployment rate, a revived automobile industry and the millions of Americans who now have health care as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Some of those “accomplishments” are debatable, but one was downright false. During her answer, Jarrett had the audacity to say that Obama “ended two wars” during his two-term tenure.
Jarrett’s comments would be news to our military. The president declared he was pulling out American troops from Iraq in 2011, only to send over 4,000 soldiers back. Meanwhile, we are launching thousands of airstrikes against ISIS and assisting Iraqi forces in their new effort to retake the important city of Fallujah.
The Obama administration has had a hard time using the word “combat” to describe our presence in Iraq, despite military serviceman being killed while fighting ISIS. Earlier this month, Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV became the third service member to fall on the front lines of battle.
Oh, and Jarrett’s “60 Minutes” interview aired at the same time our military launched a drone strike against a major Taliban leader.
While the interview may have been conducted before the official Pentagon announcement, her comments coincided with the news that a drone strike had taken out Taliban leader Mansour in the Pakistan province of Baluchistan – the latest sign of the prolonged fight in the Middle East and South Asia.
So, we’ll ask again: What exactly are President Obama's accomplishments?