If He Could Do It Over, Obama Would Still Oppose the Surge

In the hypothetical situation that Barack Obama could go back in time knowing what he knows now, he would still oppose the so-called “surge” of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Asked by ABC Monday if he would support the surge if he could “do it all over again,” Obama said “no,” adding “these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult.”

“Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I’m absolutely convinced of, is that at that time we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with,” Obama said.

John McCain has consistently characterized the surge as a “success,” saying ahead of Obama’s visit to Iraq that the Illinois senator will “see the success of the surge.”

“It is a success. This is the same strategy that he voted against, railed against,” McCain said.