Is Barack Obama just smart or is he a visionary regarding Iraq war?

Everyhting he wrote in his pre-war speech has come to pass. check out at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Obama%27s_Iraq_Speech "Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the middle east, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Queda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars."-Obama

Public Comments

1. Neither he is just BLACK Not a reason to vote for in my book
2. Just smart AND visionary.
3. Couldn't go past the first sentence without choking. Obama is a fool.
4. You didn't have to be smart to know the Iraq War was going to be a disaster but many, especially Democrats, were too scared of being called unpatriotic to say what they really thought.
5. both
6. that's a great quote... where are his balls now though? he seems to have traded his zeal in favor of moderation and bipartisanship... probably a good tactic for a politico, but hardly the actions of a visionary... Having said that .. I would still vote for him if the elections were held today and he was the Democratic candidate.
7. I noticed that Obama didn't recieve the same intel. that others did with regards to iraq wmd, and he was against the war. That intel. affected so many politicians in washington. They must feel pretty stupid falling for that fabricated intel.
8. He doesn't have a clue and stands for nothing
9. no he is not smart. he is just a liberal/socialist that would like the U.S. defeated
10. Wow!!! He sure seems to understand the Arab mentality quite well. Maybe it's because HE'S A MUSLIM.
11. Obama is just catering to the anti-war crowd, don't fall for the hype.
12. I wouldn't call him a visionary. He was right. It's more a matter of having the balls to come out and say what he thought at a time when speaking against the president could be considered "unpatriotic." It just so happens that he was right. He's admitted himself that he may very well have been wrong, and things would be much different. He's also smart. Book smart and street smart. He's got life experience living in rural areas, urban areas, upper class and poor neighborhoods, living overseas, you name it.
13. Barack Obama is, I'm sure, a highly intelligent man who has a set of opinions given his tenure and governmental point of view. But I doubt his is a "visionary." Please, research your politicians, even if you like them. And please, consider all the facts. It is easy to "prefer" a candidate. But the best time to begin to SERIOUSLY decide who to support, and ultimately who to vote for, is the last four or five weeks before the election. Thanks for the link. But anyone who really cares to research the views of political candidates already yawns at this. Now go on and learn about all the other runners.
14. ehhh....your point?
15. 1934 Hitler posed no iminent threat to the US or his neighbors. That would've sounded to be a foolish statement 5 years later, how do we know what Iraq would've been today if we didn't go to war? We don't, neither does Barack Hussein Obama.
16. OK Saddam was no threat what are you smoking he killed Kurd's like crazy he also funded the 911 attacks.. we didn't find no weapons of mass destruction but his own people shure hung one by his neck. if you're American thank you're president that we havent had a terrorist attack on us soil since 911. if we wasnt there in iraq they would be here bombing everything they can the terrorist laugh at people like you and hope the americans let the the troops come home and let our guard down. they only need a few months and the will plan a attack. i done 2 tours in iraq. they wanna kill all infadels. lets kill them first on theyer own soil. as for obama hes a muslim he would like nothing more than to see another 911 just so they can say bush didnt do his job. bush has done his job and he hasnt lied to no one
17. Clean, articulate, smart. Wow.
18. Since I don't believe he is psychic, it sounds like he knew more than the government did. How is that? I think it is a bit scary that he seems to know so much.
19. I'd say he's just smart, since it shouldn't have been difficult for anybody to realize that invading Iraq was a dumb idea. So, not visionary. In regard to, uh, certain other answerers: No, Saddam Hussein did not fund the 9/11 attacks. George Bush himself has said that there is no connection between Iraq and 9/11. ( http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/no-saddam-qaeda.htm ) He didn't explicitly say that until well after the invasion, though, because it was handy to have people thinking that there was some kind of a connection. And it's no vindication of the occupation of Iraq to say that it's causing terrorists to attack us there instead of here. That's like sticking your genitals through a hole in a fence and letting the neighbor's dog bite you there instead of letting it try to get over the fence and bite your arm. The invasion of Iraq has provided anti-American extremists in the middle east with a further provocation AND a handy, nearby target. It was dumb.
20. neither but he does know what to say to please the liberal press!