Army Times Catches Another McCain Gaffe On Petraeus

The Army Times highlight's John McCain's latest national security gaffe:

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona may not have been paying the closest of attention last week during hearings on the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

Speaking Monday at the annual meeting of the Associated Press, McCain was asked whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to intensify the search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"I would not do that unless Gen. [David] Petraeus said that he felt that the situation called for that," McCain said, referring to the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Petraeus, however, made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. Testifying last week before four congressional committees, including the Senate Armed Services Committee on which McCain is the ranking Republican, Petraeus said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan was not his responsibility because his portfolio is limited to the multi-national force in Iraq.

Decisions about Afghanistan would be made by others, he said.

"I've been sort of focused on another task," Petraeus said when pressed about whether more troops should be diverted to Afghanistan rather than Iraq.

Here's video of McCain's original remarks:

Comments

[astral66]

We all just need to cinch up our onion belts and work harder now.

[GoreyFantod]

Yeah - let's all head over to Shelbyville & give those GOP coots what for!

[harriscrl3]

Isnt it common sense of someone who has military experience to know that the person responsible for the troops in Iraq would likely be different from the person representing troops in Afghanistan. Even if he didnt hear Petraeos say this shouldnt he have guessed.

Carol

[OldBlackVet]

This cuts to his claim that he has the experience, or is it his age, that he says won't be a problem that's problem. Either way it doesn't look good to me.

[CalGoldenBear]

According to Voltaire, "Common sense is not so common."

Oh wait, Voltaire, he's a FRENCH philosopher, isn't he? And Repubs don't like the French, do they?

But as to your question, given John McCain's family military heritage, his own training and experience at Annapolis and in the Navy, and his membership since 1987 on the Senate Armed Services committee, he should KNOW what the chain of command is in Iraq (and Afghanistant).

In Iraq, it runs from GEN Petraeus as CG, Multi-National Force Iraq, through the combatant commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), through the Pentagon and SecDef Gates, and on to POTUS.

Sen. McCain shouldn't have to GUESS!

[izAriver]

Voltaire also said, "The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.­"
Reading these blogs and listening to the media have given me ample reason to contemplate.

[OldBlackVet]

Oh Well, There He Goes Again.

[mlaiuppa]

Dementia or Alzheimers?

[vandegrasse]

Oh God, another Reagan in the offing.

[CalGoldenBear]

Isn't senile dementia a precursor to Alzheimer's Disease?

[Texas4Obama]

The republicans really messed up by supporting McCain - he is too old, can't remember things, and doesn't have a clue about what is going on!

[Vige]

All these senior moments are getting really scary.

[talkingclock]

A sign of age perhaps --- another gaffe! Yipes!!!!

[kawika]

Hey guys, the view from 12,00ft dropping bombs is a lot different, when u are on the ground and have to deal with the smell and the results of your actions...­Ask the men on the ground why they prefer Obama over McCaine...­I've been there and it is not a romp.

Enough is enough...W­e need to rebuild America,,,I would rather die for a Country worth defending, than defending a Country without worth.

[Ramirez]

So why does the military prefer Obama over McCain?

[CalGoldenBear]

Kawika:

If I didn't know better, I'd guess that you have some connection to Hawaii since your log-in is the Hawaiian for "David."

If you were truly in-country, then "welcome home." When I see men or women wearing ACUs with a "combat patch" at the Hickam or Pearl Harbor food courts, exchanges or commissaries, I go up to them and welcome them home. (I remember stories about Vietnam returnees supposedly being spat upon).

For fixed-wing naval aviators like Sen. McCain (or Donald Rumsfeld, in peacetime), war is different: one or more sorties a day, then back to a carrier and three hot meals, a shower, and clean bed linens and uniforms. That's not the same war experienced by what the Brits call the "poor bloody infantry": soldiers, Marines, and attached Navy corpsman (the Marines don't have their own medical personnel).

(BTW, Rev. Jeremiah Wright spent two years as a Marine, then another hitch as a Navy corpsman during the "Vietnam era," 1961-67).

And I don't know what happened to the formatting on my earlier post that follows this.

[CalGoldenBear]

Sorry, but Sen. McCain should know better.Con­sider his history:U.­S. Naval Academy, Annapolis:  1954-58U.S­. Navy, active duty:  1958-81 (retiring as a captain, pay grade 0-6)U.S. Senate and member, Senate Armed Services committee:  1987-prese­ntAdmitted­ly, he supposedly graduated near the bottom of his class.  BUT at the same time, his father and grandfather were also Navy admirals.  So Sen. McCain has spent his lifetime in and around the U.S. naval service and military.  He is or should be familiar with the command structure and chain of command, especially since he was recently on a CENTCOM tour.  (Compare that to HRC who claims to "know the military" from 7 years of hearings and briefings on that same committee)­.GEN Petraeus is head of Multi-National Force Iraq and supposedly reports to the combatant commander, the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), who until recently was ADM WIlliam Fallon, a naval aviator, I believe.  (A report last week said that The Shrub violates the chain of command by consulting directly with Petraeus, who the Repubs have political hopes for in the future).

[Ramirez]

The President cannot "violate the chain of command." He is the C-in-C and he makes the rules, including the rules for chain of command.