NBC's Brown: "It's difficult to say that you're against the war and at the same time not say that you're against the troops"

During a discussion of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) comment that "[w]e have now ... seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted" in Iraq, co-host Campbell Brown said on the February 13 edition of NBC's Today: "It's tough for Democrats especially on this issue because -- especially Obama, who's not only opposed to the war, but has set a timeline for bringing troops home. It's difficult to say that you're against the war and at the same time not say that you're against the troops."

As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted (here, here, here, and here) several media outlets have equated support for the Iraq war and opposition to withdrawal with supporting the military and the troops. This suggests that those who oppose the war or support withdrawal do not support the troops. Brown took it a step further, making explicit what others for the most part have merely implied -- that a position against the war and for the troops is inherently contradictory.

Obama subsequently apologized for the comment.

From the February 13 edition of NBC's Today:

MATT LAUER (co-host): Barack Obama made a comment recently. He's taken some criticism for it, saying that 3,000 lives in Iraq may have been wasted. He clarified that and said instead they were not honored because he realized he had offended some military families. How big a fallout will there be over this?

BROWN: It's tough. It's tough for Democrats especially on this issue because -- especially Obama, who's not only opposed to the war, but has set a timeline for bringing troops home. It's difficult to say that you're against the war and at the same time not say that you're against the troops. And they're trying on the campaign trail right now to find that balance.

—A.I.