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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2007)
ilil> ^jJortlanh (©bseruer Page A6 lune 27. 2007 Goodin ,he Neighborhood ^BRIDGE Bl7ILPr ><S Members o f Portland's Bridge Builders, local youth who aim high with constructive tools and African-centered rites o f passage, march down Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Satur day for the Good in the Neighborhood parade. The annual event and ensuing Good in the Hood weekend festival were a chance for the commu nity to gather and celebrate what’s good in north and northeast Portland. v u m p et» P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Obama Insider in Our Backyard continued from Front country stronger. What kind of perspective did you offer? I represent a different view; I'm not “cut and run." In my opinion the hard work [in Iraq) is yet to be done. No m atter who is president, they will need advice on how to get out of this jam . It’s not a liberal or conservative issue - it’s about how you are going to pull this off. I ran the whole Air Force in combat and I know which levers to pull, which but tons to push. What weaknesses can you advise Obama on? I’m not sure I can help him much be cause he's so good already. If I had any use, it’d be because I understand how the system works because I've been beat up by the system and Obama hasn’t yet. What advice have you given ( )hama so far? You can't continue to vote for appro priations for the war. I advised him to vote for the hardest line of getting out of Iraq and toestablish a practical position. I think he should vote more radically than he acts - to set a deadl ine for getting al 1 forces out of Iraq by a certain time. (Obama has followed M cPeak’s advice each time they’ve talked). Do you really think the United States could completely withdrawal anytime soon? No. But a vote on an [Iraq War] appro priations bill is a tactical vote, one that is different from the real world. As I said, the hardest work is yet to be done. What war advice would you give if he were elected? I think Obama’s task is to get out as soon as possible. Step one would be to establish a policy position, and tell the Iraqis w e're serious about leaving, it will be complicated to unwind our presence, but it will have to be practical, not ideal. This is a complex management problem, and I can expect Obama to say he’ll vote for a date certain. What kind of timeline do you see for withdrawal? It’s likely to be a fighting withdrawal, and I don’t think we can get out of Iraq in less than six months. What are you r thoughts on the cur rent administration's handling of the war? photo by S arah B lount /T he P ortland O bserver Retired Air Force General Merrill McPeak sits at a coffee shop in Lake Oswego where he lives with his wife. Ellie. McPeak recently became an advisor for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign. These guys have no idea what they’re doing. Cheney is pureevil. like Darth Vader. And the rest of these guys are complete duds. On an ideological level they want to establish an imperial presence in Iraq; we spent billions and built a dozen bases because we expect to be there for the next couple hundred years, but they have no notion of how the world works. W hodoyou admire within the Ohama campaign? Susan Rice. She is brilliant. (Rice is a foreign policy expert who worked for the Clinton Administration and is a cousin of Condoleezza Rice.) Also, Tony Lake, Clinton’s national security advisor. What do you envision your future role in the campaign to he? I envision Obama will be elected presi dent and I'll goon living in Lake Oswego, which is exactly what I want to do. ESCAPE Just west of Portland 1,700 acres of hilly forestland between HWY 26 and Vernonia is now protected as a state park. Constructed with funds from the Oregon Lottery, "S tu b " Stewart State Park is Oregon's first new full service park in more than 30 years. It's less than 30 miles from Portland and it opens July 2007. With 80 campsites, 15 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking, a cabin village, a horse camp, a hike-in camp for backpackers, interpretive exhibits, a sheltered picnic ground and a hill-top observation tower for sightseeing and stargazing, Stub Stewart is an ideal place to escape into nature - whether you want to get away or just hear yourself think. In 1998, Oregon's state parks were in trouble. There wasn't enough money to maintain them and some were in danger of closing, which is why Oregonians voted to use Lottery profits to support state parks. Today, Oregon is able to make investments in all of its parks and is buying and developing new park land across the state because of the Lottery funding. itdoesgoodthings.org OREGON LOTTERY Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainm ent only. • 1 M 1 il F 5 * tl L ì I r » li I I , f J >*i i'.’l W » l V