Obama's Fuzzy Math

When Australian Prime Minister John Howard openly hoped that Senator Barack Obama would never become our president for fear that he would hurt the war on terrorism, Obama [fired back] by demanding that Howard either send 20,000 more troops to Iraq or shut his mouth forever.

Australia currently has 1,400 troops in Iraq, a small number compared to the 140,000 soldiers there from the United States. But Scott Sala at [Urban Elephants] has scribbled some figures on a napkin, and has come to the conclusion that [Obama is the one who should keep his mouth shut](http://www.urbanelephants.com/nyc/node/6367).

Sala notes that Australia's total armed forces add up to 50,000 troops, and that the 1,400 in Iraq match the percentage of not only our own troop levels compared to the military as a whole, but also as a percentage of the population of each country.

"There are times to rely on rhetoric and soundbites, but not when dealing with an ally and with war. Perhaps Obama doesn't know much about our ally, or even worse, perhaps he does not know how vast are our own military resources compared to other countries. This is scary, coming from the man who could become Commander in Chief," writes Sala.