Did Obama Commit Treason?

While Barack Obama was on his "magical mystery" tour overseas in July, he held a closed door meeting with Iraqi leaders. During this meeting he evidently tried to persuade the Iraqi leadership to delay making any agreements with the current US administration regarding troop withdrawals.

A New York Post article entitled, "Obama Tried to Stall GIS' Iraq Withdrawal" by Amir Taheri stated,

"According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

'He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,' Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its 'state of weakness and political confusion.'

'However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open.' Zebari says.

Though Obama claims the US presence is 'illegal,' he suddenly remembered that Americans troops were in Iraq within the legal framework of a UN mandate. His advice was that, rather than reach an accord with the 'weakened Bush administration,' Iraq should seek an extension of the UN mandate.

While in Iraq, Obama also tried to persuade the US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to suggest a 'realistic withdrawal date.' They declined."

After this information was brough to light the Obama campaign came out swinging...or did they? According to the Associated Press, in an attempt to deny the charges made by the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Obama's national security spokeswoman, Wendy Morigi, said that Obama,

"has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat brigades."

However, in the same statement Ms. Morigi stated,

"In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a 'Strategic Framework Agreement' governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office."

Isn't that what was reported in the Taheri article? I would have to say that Ms. Morigi just confirmed exactly what the Iraqi Foreign Minister said. Oops!!!! I would have loved to be a fly on the wall at the Obama camp later that day.

So the question is, did Barack Obama commit treason in this unsanctioned activity?

According to the Law Library - American Law and Legal Information - American Encyclopedia Volume 6,

"The Logan Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948]) is a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits citizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States without authorization.

Congress established the Logan Act in 1799...the Logan Act has remained almost unchanged and unused since its passage. The act in short and reads as follows:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

The language of the act appears to encompass almost every communication between a U.S. citizen and a foreign government considered an attempt to influence negotiations between their two countries. Because the language is so broad in scope, legal scholars and judges have suggested that the Logan Act is unconstitutional. Historically, the act has been used more as a threat to those engaged in various political activities than as a weapon for prosecution. In fact, Logan Act violations have been discussed in almost every administration without any serious attempt at enforcement, and to date there have been no convictions and only one recorded indictment."

It would appear that Obama did violate the Logan Act, which would be an act of treason. Someone at the justice department needs to investigate his activities in Iraq. How about any closed door meetings he might have had in Afghanistan...London...Paris...and Berlin?