McCain: Democrats' Stance on Iraq Flawed

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday that calls from his Democratic rivals to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq stand as a "failure of leadership" as they are making promises they cannot keep. Democrat Barack Obama said the failure rests with McCain's support for an open-ended occupation of Iraq.

Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars, McCain criticized Obama and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and insisted that last year's U.S. troop buildup in Iraq brought a glimmer of "something approaching normal" there, despite a recent outbreak of heavy fighting and a U.S. death toll that has surpassed 4,000.

Pulling out now would jeopardize recent gains, McCain said.

"I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected," McCain told the crowd of about 130 people, mostly veterans.

"To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility," he said. "It is a failure of leadership."

He took a brief tour of the National World War I Museum afterward.

McCain, the presidential nominee-in-waiting, is closely tied to the unpopular, five-year-old war. McCain was a vocal advocate of the troop increase strategy eventually adopted by President Bush, and is seeking to convince people the strategy is working. He also argued that Iraq will need more money and aid for reconstruction.

Clinton and Obama, still battling for the Democratic presidential nomination, dispute the claims of success, arguing the war has failed to make the United States safer.

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"It's a failure of leadership to support an open-ended occupation of Iraq that has failed to press Iraq's leaders to reconcile, badly overstretched our military, put a strain on our military families, set back our ability to lead the world, and made the American people less safe," Obama said, using McCain's own words against him.

Clinton chastised McCain's Iraq strategy as "four more years of the Bush-Cheney-McCain policy of continuing to police a civil war while the threats to our national security, our economy, and our standing in the world mount."

"We simply cannot give the Iraqi government an endless blank check," she said. "It is time to end this war as quickly, as responsibly, and as safely as possible."

Debate will intensify this week as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker testify to Congress. Clouding their testimony is fighting that erupted late last month as U.S.-trained Iraqi forces attempted to oust Shiite militias from Basra in southern Iraq.

For his part, McCain suggested the Democrats' promise to withdraw troops was motivated by ambition rather than honesty.

People deserve a candid assessment of progress in Iraq as well as of the serious difficulties that remain and of the consequences of hasty withdrawal, McCain said.

McCain warned against the swift withdrawal of troops advocated by Obama and Clinton, saying Iraq could quickly become a terrorist haven.

"These likely consequences of America's failure in Iraq would, almost certainly, require us to return to Iraq or draw us into a wider and far costlier war," the Arizona senator said.

He highlighted a sharp drop in violence in recent months in his speech to the VFW at the National World War I Museum. From June 2007 until last month, when McCain visited Iraq, violence, he said, fell by 90 percent, and deaths of civilians and coalition forces fell by 70 percent.

"The dramatic reduction in violence has opened the way for a return to something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi," McCain said, making the case for staying in order to take advantage of the gains.

Despite the positive numbers he cited, 2007 _ the year of the troop buildup _ was the deadliest yet.

McCain insisted he could rally support from the majority of Americans _ even though, according to public opinion surveys, they believe the war is going badly and the troop buildup has not helped.

"If we are honest about the opportunities and the risks, I believe they will have the patience to allow us the time necessary to obtain our objectives," McCain said.

Comments

[realpolitic]

McCain's rhetoric is getting further and further away from normalcy.

[bushmocker]

I can't believe we're going to be verbally assaulted by this dottering warmonger old codger coot until November?

[GhostintheMachine]

ASSRIYA — The Soldiers of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery, a California National Guard unit attached to the 1103rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, spend most of their nights conducting convoy security missions.

Although they have a job that requires them to be nocturnal, a few of the Soldiers have chosen to use their daylight hours to work in a village located outside of Camp Taji.

Since February, Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Battery A, 1st Bn., 143rd FA, use their personal time between missions to deliver supplies and make repairs to schools in the village of Assriya, Iraq.

“When we first started, we started with volunteers, but everybody volunteered so it ended up 100 percent participation,” said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Weaver, a Greenville, Calif., native and the platoon leader for 2nd Plt., Battery A, 1st Bn., 143rd FA.

“It’s a good cultural awakening for these guys. It gives them a side of Iraq that they normally don’t get to see and a chance to interact with the Iraqi people,” said Weaver

[LightningJoe]

Not only must the Democrats promise to end the war with all seemly dispatch, but they must DO it, as well, or their numbers will tank.

----
Don't watch the tv. You'll just encourage it.

[rmirman]

If what is happening in Iraq is normal then we will be there for 100 years, leading among others, to many.many thousands of US deaths. That is why McCain thinks we should be there for 100 years. He believes that it would be irresponsible to end the killing. Will the situation improve next year, in 5 years, 10, 100? Of course not. It is now normal so we must not pull out for the next century.

randomabsu­rdities.wo­rdpress.co­m

[FilmDoctor]

The AP story, and the Huffington website, are liars. What McCain actually said was that the recent reduction in violence "opened the way" to something approaching normal. And, he has also recently said that the road is still going to be very rough in spite of the recent progress. The left wing should just keep their stupid pieholes shut! Every time they open their mouths, they reveal their ignorance, and their anti-American, neo-fascist Commie bias. Ann Coulter's books TREASON and GODLESS are aptly named. If anything, the Bush administration has to be even more aggressive in the whole Middle East, and in Afghanista­n/Pakistan­. As one pundit said, they are waging war on the cheap and don't stand up strongly enough against the Islamic Jihad and their toadies in the Western press and on The Huffington Post. Semper fi, baby!

[fourex]

McCain: We Have "Something Approaching Normal" In Iraq

There is nothing approaching normal in McCain's head.

[forpeace]

*

Sorry off topic but important

American Troops Going Insane--www.freedomfighterradio.net

God bless America?

Would god bless this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq5_vG3cYGM

*

[DofG]

One can believe this, or not. But Sen. McCain's position on this war reflects the same sort of duplicitous thinking, in America, that allows him to celebrate Dr. King's life, "and what he stood for", and at the same time, not account for the stark immorality of occupying a sovereign nation, that never invited us to occupy it! It is the same sort of conflation of opposing concepts, on the one hand, that says there should be a separation of church and state. Yet, despite Jeremiah Wright's, right to express his concept of "prophetic theology", significant numbers of people behave as if he is a threat to national security! But the Bush administration can throw habeas corpus out the window and break the FISA Law etc, etc.., and not have those constitutional violations played ad nauseam on the "stupid box"! Where is the mass outrage? Do you see it?

The point is that ignorance and bias, within the body politic , are the life blood of malevolent politics.

[julescator]

YOu should read this and pass it along. This gentleman spoke last week about Iraq before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This man is an Iraqi American who has spent the last 5 years in Iraq as a journalist:

http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/testimony/2008/RosenTestimony080402p.pdf

Make sure you pass this along!

Thanks.

[LITU]

I'd be curious to read how GhostintheMachine and FilmDoctor would remark on this testimonial. No doubt with some form of venomous denial.

[FilmDoctor]

HuffPost's Pick

Hussein violated the cease fire agreement he signed time and time again. We're not occupying a "sovereign nation." We put an evil tyrant out of business, and those who oppose the war so stupidly are only giving aid and comfort to the Islamic terrorists who, if they obtained power in the USA, would target Ariana Huffington and her minions for violent extermination! As for Rev. Wright, his racist victim theology is reprehensible. Those in the black community who defend him are only leading their own race to destruction, as the nightly local news shows day in and day out. Only American citizens have the right to habeus corpus. I have nothing to fear from a government wiretap making sure we can keep track of suspected terrorists overseas. I do have something to fear, however, from a neo-fascist Commie regime led by radical nincompoops like Sen. Clinton and Barry Obama. They are the ones who want to really keep the poor enslaved.

[BrettnCalgary]

Hmm... MinneapolisMike?

[realpolitic]

It took the Hamdi decision to retain our right to habeas corpus. The Bushies have repeatedly attacked our right to the great writ. Now Clinton and Obama are neo-fascist, Commies, Islamo-fascists. Can you throw in any more adjectives in there? I do not quite get your point!

[transendentilist]

Neo-fascist, Commie regime????????? Oh boy. Do you even know what those words mean?? If anything, they are hard corps capitalists. Which is about as far from communism that you can get.
If you want to sound intelligent, start cracking the books.

[clembo]

The General and his prime cheerleader, McCain, will boast of reduced violence as a sign of progess with eternal peace and stability just around the corner. The truth remains far removed from this delusional fiction: the country has been turned into an ethnically cleansed series of armed / walled fiefdoms. In the south the Basra fiasco illustrated to all the strength of two entities: the mullah led Shiites and their giddy sponsor - Iran. The U.S. turned to bribery in order to placate the Sunni sectors: please take our money and weapons (we have always turned a blind eye to Saudi, Kuwaiti, and UAE complicity in the arming of the Sunni factions) and all we ask in return is you turn out the foreign elements of al Qaida who crossed into Iraq for the golden opportunity to blast away at vulnerable U.S. troops and/or Shiite civilians. In the north, the Kurds continue to consolidate their power base much to the chagrin of our former loyal allies - the Turks. This is progress, my friends. This must constitute "freedom on the march" with the blessings of democracy and prosperity to follow. One-hundred years of presence, indeed. One-hundred more years of no-bid contracts for Halliburton and BlackWater anyone?

[rosal]

Yes, McCan't, we are making a lot of progress, only ten soldiers killed between yesterday and today. And how are you planning to meassure success? How many dead soldiers and civilians will mark success? Five, ten, one hundred? When will you be ready to end the war? Please define success. It just escapes me what success will look in Iraq.
By the way, McCan't, when are you going to vote for a bill that supports our troops. Maybe voting, at least once, for providng our soldiers with health care and education, will show that you care about our troops. People, research this man's voting record regarding our troops.

[LITU]

First of all, any formula containing the terms safety and Iraq is flawed. Safety and Iraq were never synonymous (until we created instability). The Democratic candidates need to let that notion go. The fact that they continue to beat the drums fomenting some sort of relationship in that regard suggests their rhetoric is disingenuous.

McCain said: "To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility," he said. "It is a failure of leadership."

Let me pick that apart. Let's see, no matter how disastrous the war is in human terms (calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people), our singular interest is their oil (our most vital interests), pure and simple, and no matter the cost, we will protect our investment in that oil (the future of the Middle East), and anybody who says otherwise is going to get beat to political pulp (failure of leadership).

I don't know which side is more demoralizing. The Democrats who can't seem to develop an original thought, or the Republicans, who only ever have one thought.

Sorry for the fifth-grade review; I'm not that bright, but I think I get it despite my inability to express it.

[Soosan a disgusted American]

Here is a link to a 4 minute clip. I warn you it is very disturbing however it is a little window to reality of war and extent of human hatred for each other. Please don't tell me this kind of behavior is just an isolated case and/or this clip just depicts a small group of bad apples. Because truly no one knows for a fact the frequency of these despicable acts. One thing is for sure "Iraqi's don't hate us for our freedom"!
I want the soldiers back home before they all go insane and embarrass me not only as an American but as a Human.
Have we failed in Iraq? The answer is yes in many ways, it is time to stop this insanity! Is this war winnable, no we have lost it a long time ago!
While you are watching this clip play back the following quotes from McCain in you head lets spice it up a notch;
"life is approaching normal for Iraqis", "To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsi­bility,its a failure of leadership."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq5_vG3cYGM

[Birdman]

McCain, apparently has no clue the damage that Iraq has done to this country. He thinks we can sustain a never ending occupation of that country. He states that democrats are reckless in suggesting we should leave. That they cannot promise that, here is what I think John. It is possible we cannnot leave but to bury your head in the sand put on rose colored glasses and say we can stay forever indicates the person saying this is completely out of touch with the damage that has happned to our economy as a direct result to the occupation of Iraq. We cannot afford to keep spending billions a day regardless of what may happen when we leave. It is long past due that we concern ourselves with our own country and quit trying to build empires we were never good at it anyway, and our current attempt by Chimpy has been a complete and utter failure to label it anything else is to ignore the facts. Here's one for you Johnny hows the deficit? Last time I heard it was near 9 trillion a number that is beyond normal comprehension here is an example if this 9 trillion were seconds it would amount to roughly 285,000 years does that give you an idea how much it is? Considering GW created 4.5 trillion of this by waging this war and his tax cuts has destroyed us forever. More of the same will not help.

[SpookyTooth]

10 americans dead in two days, failed offensive in basra and insane mccain thinks things are approaching normal. typical republican lies.

[jinjinpinti]

jOHN mCbUSH is merely practicing to be a good neoCon, which means he MUST learn how to create and maintain an alternate reality wherein up is down, hot is cold, in is out, war is peace, bad is good, the surge is working, the economy is strong, the coalition is huge, our troops want to stay in Iraq, medical care is easily accessible and cheap, the mission is accomplished, we're in the last throes, the WMD are there somewhere, etc., etc.., etc. By merely declaring something is true, John McBomb will expect us to realize he must be correct. He will be greatly assisted in this endeavor by the main stream miasma, ie., Cable TV news.