McCain Won't Rule Out Pre-Emptive War

WESTPORT, Conn. — Republican Sen. John McCain refused Wednesday to rule out a pre-emptive war against another country, although he said one would be very unlikely.

The likely Republican presidential nominee was asked Wednesday at a town-hall style meeting if he would reject "the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war," a reference to Bush's decision to invade Iraq without it having attacked the United States.

"I don't think you could make a blanket statement about pre-emptive war, because obviously, it depends on the threat that the United States of America faces," McCain told his audience at Bridgewater Associates Inc., a global investment firm.

"If someone is about to launch a weapon that would devastate America, or have the capability to do so, obviously, you would have to act immediately in defense of this nation's national security interests."

McCain said he would consult more closely and more carefully "not with every member of Congress, but certainly the leaders of Congress."

The Iraq war was in the spotlight this week as Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander there, gave Congress a status report on the war. McCain argues for keeping troops in Iraq to capitalize on security gains, despite a recent outbreak of violence. His Democratic rivals, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton argue for withdrawing troops.

Comments

[zendem1]

What has arms, a brown nose, an empty head and lives in the closet?

Answer: Lindsay Graham

[Not Blind]

McCain won't rule out another pre-emptive attack, war or occupation of another country. He's already stated he wants to bomb Iran (not because there's nuclear technology, but more oil fields). The only reason we haven't gone after Saudi Arabia is because the Bush family has been in bed with them for years. They've bailed out G.W. on more than one occassion, which explains why the Saudis were flown out of the country immediately after 9/11, while air traffic was halted, despite the fact the hijackers were mostly Saidi nationals, and Bin-Laden is their cousin.
As for the Nazis, the Bush family made their fortune via contracts with the Third Reich. Prescott Bush (Dubya's grandpa) first financed Hitler's campaign, and then got lucritive contracts during WW II. The blood of ruthlessness, opportunism, corruption and greed still runs thick in this family's genes.
We should ask Bush, if he's so proud of his achievements in going to war, and that it's been so good for making us safer, why aren't his daughters enlisted? They're young, healthy, reasonably intelligent and could serve this country well, provided they don't follow their daddy's footsteps and go AWOL.

[Saxton]

What scares me is one: The press has given McCain a pass by consistently regurgitating that he is a "maverick,” a fighter, and an independent. They shrug off his "senior moments" and talk about his time as a POW. Therefore, Americans cannot look to the press for any unbiased reporting of the man.
Second, Cheney is busy making deals that will further entrench this country in wars in the Middle East all in order to gain control of oil exports. The Republicans cannot risk any of that being tampered with, so they will steal this election any way possible. Finally, Wall Street - it is to the benefit of Exxon, Time/Warner, and the banking industry and so on to keep the White House under Republican control. After all, how nice that the banking industry can receive a nice bail-out by the government while at the same time raising interest rates to ridiculous levels on responsible consumers. I guarantee within a year it will be disclosed that the banking industry managed to make a very nice profit from all of this and their top-level executives were handsomely rewarded.

[Arleang]

All of that is very scary, but now that Pat Buchanan on MSNBC is predicting that there is a 50-50 chance of Bush/Cheney bombing Iran before November; that fact is #1 on my scary list.

The possibility of bombing Iran has been a hot topic on some Internet sites, but this is the first time I have heard it predicted on the MSM.

The neocons really want it and it might be looked at as a political tool to bring support to McCain.

Ladies and gentlemen, this scares the Hell out of me!

[Ramirez]

Every spring since 2006 the MSM has predicted the US will bomb Iran. It's usually predicted for May.

[bobo209]

INSANE MCAIN SHOULD PRE-EMPT HIS METAMUCIL SUPLLY LINES..HIS MINDER FROM AL-AIPAC FRAUDSTERS SHOULD LAY OFF MATZZAA BALLS..OUI­III..SAY IT AINT SO JOE...

[lovethesinner]

In November, we won't be picking a President so much as choosing whether to ratify a military-industrial coup, or to reinstate international law and our own constitution.

McCain and the Republicans are asking us to redefine patriotism as loyalty to our military, not to our laws and ethics.

When the guys who enforce the laws are the guys who make the laws, you have tyranny. When the guys who make the guns become the guys who set the policy, you no longer have Democracy, you have FASCISM.

Obama-Webb '08

[frappe]

Great comment! Thanks. I couldn't agree with you more.

[mrdontplay]

So how can America guarantee itself from this mindset of Pre-emptive war?

What can the american people do to Pre-empt the pre-emptive war mongers.

How can we stop them before they claim they have to start bombing again?

How can you stop a killer from killing before he starts again?

[robeson]

Nurnberg Trials, where the propagandists were also convicted of war crimes.

[peggio]

Crazy old John loves war. It's the only thing he remembers. Okay, it's true he can't tell a Sunni from a Shia but he knows war and knows it's good! He's a hero, he told us so. John Kerry missed the chance to be in prison and he , we've been told is a coward. McCraze got captured..­.we know we see the loop over and over and over, and he is an American hero. If only he could remember where America is, but he loves a good war and that's what matters. He has his crack(ed) team and they have his back, which is a little scary. Droning Joementum is there to whisper sweet nothings (like his name when he forgets it) in his ear. Zip the what is it Graham is handy for insults. Why he could be the turd blossom of Bush III.Then of course his lovely wife Cindy (the trollop per John) who will stand by his side as a constant reminder that he is old enough to be her grandfather. Which, by the way, if he was, one might hope he'd talk to her about the dye job! Yeah, He might add his dear friend and endorser, Shrillary to teach the team how to duck sniper fire. Yeah, John loves war, it's the only thing he remembers!!!

[SLone08]

Well, since Hillary voted for Kyl Lieberman, a bill that would authorize another pre-emptive war with Iran, what's the difference between her and McCain on this issue?

[oracle99]

What has happened to our country and the elected officials that we voted for? Why isn't anyone more outraged about where our country is headed? The very idea of going into another ill advised war with with Iran is totally insane. Our economy is in the toilet, we owe China a debt for many years to come, and our prestige in the World Community is at an all time low. Years ago during the cold war Nikita Kruskchev told the US that we wouldn't have to be invaded or taken over, but that our country would crumble from within. Why is war the only thing on these politicians minds? We must end the control of this country by the Military Industrial Complex.

[barrista]

People just don't understand the gravity of what pre-emptive war means. McCain and Bush are throwing jus ad bellum out because they can fearmong people into believing that everyone else in the world is out to get them.

It sets a dangerous precedent.

[truthbrigade]

Mark my word, Goober Nation will find a way to put this fiasco in the W/H in January. After all, they put the criminal retard in the W/H twice, yes twice. And if you're not sure if this country lost all respect in the world, McCain will work on getting the world to express its feelings more clearly.
Countries usually get what they deserve, time for old scar face.

[frappe]

Correction -- George W. Bush was the beneficiary of two STOLEN elections. And what "goober nation" do you hail from?

[HowietheScreamer]

And the fact that the Nuremburg Trials (LEAD by the USA) made Pre-emptive war a "Crime against Humanity" means nothing to these people.

Pre-emptive war is a WAR CRIME. We hung people for that. Of course they were fur'ners and brown peple.

See what happens when people don't bother to learn from History? Arrogance and malice. It's all we have left.

[shaggles]

Yep.

[DoninJoisey]

Somebody please explain the difference between a war of aggression - as we charged Germany and Japan with after WWII, and a "pre-emptive" war.
An aggressor always alleges it's pre-emptive.
Have we absolutely no moral compass left?

Another grab for OIL. Funny how Bin Laden is in Pakistan, but no talk of that....no Oil in Pakistan..­.

[barrista]

There is but one difference. they were the enemy. America's continually cowboy way of foreign policy is dangerous.

[PierreLeClerke]

No human being could endure the suffering John McCain did at the hands of his oppressive captors
without being deeply and permanently scared for life. For this reason alone, McCain's horrific POW time disqualifies him from being psychologically stable enough to be considered for the office of President of these United States. With all respect to his suffering and sacrifice all those years ago, and despite any other personality quirks he may possess, he, as a human being is irreversibly damaged in his ability to provide consistent sound judgment under any stressed conditions. Thats the reality of Life.

[RickO]

The Nuremburg Trials (Nazi war crimes) were a monumental event in human history. Robert Jackson, a US Supreme Court Justice and chief counsel to the prosecution said that the Nazis were "not on trial because they lost the war, but because they started it". He also said that for those proceedings to have any real meaning, it was important to maintain the precedent for future generations that the greatest war crime of all was the planning and exectution of a war of aggression.

We can use all the twisted semantics we want but a war is a war and whoever does it first started it. If you say, we reserve the right to pre-emptive war, that's the exact same thing as saying you reserve the right to plan and execute a war of aggression. If legal precedent has any meaning, the Bush administration is guilty of the ultimate war crime, according to justice Jackson, and McCain is dabbling with conspiracy to commit war crimes.

Yet, we vote these people into office. If we give McCain the keys to the B-52, he's likely to take it for a joy ride.

[ShimeyShimey]

I, for one am sick of it. What did we do to deserve leaders like this? I really hop McSame doesn't become the next president, but like I said it's rigged. It's always been that way.

[BlackLeatherRain]

"What did we do to deserve leaders like this?"

The answer to that is easy. We, as a country, stopped caring. When you don't care about your government, you end up with a government that doesn't care about anything but itself.

[barrista]

Fear, really. The world is a complicated place, much more complicated today. When people want to make sense of it, they make it as simplistic as possible. Good vs Evil. Us vs. them.
Give the government the keys to the car, just don't let the terrorists get here!

[floridagurl]

Rigged huh? I suppose you think the government is responsible for 9/11 too.

[ShimeyShimey]

opps- hope.

[NoSillyName]

Well, after all we are the frickin' rulers of this poor planet, the Deciders about everything and everyone. Global Warming? That's the Fury of the Founding Fathers reaching the boiling point over what has become of their Idealistic Dream for America.

[ShimeyShimey]

I'm surprised they haven't used that one as an excuse yet. Ha.