McCain Focuses On Iraq While Afghanistan Boils

Christian Science-Monitor:

John McCain has called Iraq the "central front" of the war on terror, a crucible of America's ability to defeat violent Islamic extremists the world over.

But with record US casualties in Afghanistan in June, a resurgent Taliban, and new reports of Al Qaeda regrouping in northwest Pakistan, Senator McCain is likely to face new questions about his judgment on the one issue - national security - where voters consistently give him higher marks than they do his Democratic rival.

Read the whole story: Christian Science-Monitor

Comments

[bola47]

mcsame must focus on iraq. the no-bid oil companies need our soldiers to protect their workers. no such luck for the poppy growers in afghanistan.

[keepemhonest]

Talk about poor judgment! McCain thinks the "central front of the war on terror is Iraq?" What a lame brain. Al Qaeda from Afghanistan attacked us on 9/11 - not Iraq ... making Afghanistan the "central front of the war on terror." -- DUH!!!

Why has McCain resisted calls for increasing troop level in Afghanistan? Poor judgment.

McCain is the naive candidate by not taking a strong stance on Afghanistan.

McCain said he wants to follow Bin Laden to the gates of Hell .. he just might get that wish.

Obama, as Commander-in-chief, will issue Mission Withdrawal from Iraq and have his generals execute said Mission. As a result, Obama will be able to put more troops in Afghanistan & capture bin Laden. Which is what we should have been doing for the last 5 years.

Why does McCain want to stay in Iraq & ignore al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Poor judgment.

[JoeBlough]

McCain does what he is told to do by the Bush Machine.

[FilthyPerson]

This is for all the Iraq War experts commenting here.

I'm including below parts of 2 comments from elCapidan who is back in the good old USA after an Iraq deployment and we had a chance to talk this past weekend.
It would have been enlightening for some of you, irritating for many, and incomprehensible for others..
On one thing there was no need for discussion ... some of you are almost terminally ignorant of what's really happening.

Here are the extracts from his HuffPo comments ...

******************************************************

What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the story the average American is exposed to on a daily basis just doesn't cut it. Generally speaking, you're getting all the bad news and none of the good. Why? Because if it bleeds, it leads; everything else is just boring..

Posted 06:03 PM - 05/15/2008

And since you brought it up; the area where I spent the second half of my deployment (al Khalis) was a mixed district- a predominantly Shia city surrounded by Sunni towns. After years of fighting, these people ARE finally governing together. They have put their differences aside, and in less than two years have gone from one of the most dangerous parts of the Diyala province, to one of the safest.
Find some media coverage of that. Oh right, you can't. You see a bunch of dumb kids in New England got knocked up. And that's much more important.

Posted 03:41 PM on 06/23/2008

[AdLib]

Just to put this Filth in perspective:

============================

"FilthyPerson See Profile I'm a Fan of FilthyPerson

Rush REALLY knows lefties.

This must gall the cr-ap out of you people.

You must pray to the messiah every night for a return of the unfairness doctrine. posted 07/02/2008 at 14:12:37"
==================================

Such mindless drones that kneel (literally) to Rush are not seen around this planet as "fountains" of wisdom or truth.

[IntelligentDesign]

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo we went into Iraq to bring Sunni and Shia together?

[dolphy]

It's really "deja vu all over again" from about 36 years ago. I hope we don't have the same election result this time.

[VOTER]

McSame's staff has scheduled him for an advanced spelling and geography class.

First spelling assignment: Learn to spell Afghanistan.

Next locate it on a World Map.

Class will conclude on November 3rd, 2008.

He is expected to be at the Top of his Class. (As he is the only one in the class.)

[sonofdy1]

If Obama wins, the first thing I am going to do is get a "impeach Obama" bumper sticker. Not because I think he needs to be impeached, but because I want to see the looks from the other drivers!!! ;-)

[WLA]

If people thinking you are a moron is what you are going for, I would say that you are well on your way.

[sonofdy1]

Oh please, this from the people who demanded bush be impeached for winning in 2000. Get over yourselves. Do you really think because your guy gets in everyone will forget about your 8 years of hatemongering against bush? Obama can't unite us because his base are the very people who divide us!!!

[dolphy]

Let's see the scorecard: Al Qaeda expenses - maybe 100 Million; us - 1 Trillion. So Al qaeda is winning 10,000 to one.

[sonofdy1]

Not really, they have lost ground in every country they have opperated in since 2000 EXCEPT Pakistan.

[Meggie]

And Afghanistan.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Where did they get $100 million?

[dolphy]

From our friends in Saudi Arabia.

[WLA]

Bake sales.

[dolphy]

I forgot our friends in Afghanistan who supplies our speed.

[Soundofthunder]

McCain is beginning to sound like Nixon and his secret plans for winning in Vietnam. Here's the secret, folks: McCain doesn't have any plans, just like his predecessor Bush, but one -- STAY FOREVER.

Expect 4 more years in both countries as he wings it, and, to complete the tic-tac-toe, an incursion into Iran born on wings of false nuclear scares and WMD threats and puffed up claims of assisting the Iraqi insurgence.

McCain is to sanity what dry is to water.

SOT

[dolphy]

Let's see how the people behave with $10/gal gas if we attack Iran.

[sonofdy1]

WE will not attack Iran, ISRAEL will because they can NOT allow Iran to have a bomb because Iran will use it. But in the end it will not matter because no matter if its us or israel, Iran will start sinking ships in the straights almost immediately. Then the real war will begin. And if we let Iran get nukes, we will see one used here in the usa.

[sonofdy1]

False nuclear scares? The only intelligence service saying that iran has stoped are the american ones, the UN and the EU are actualy more hawkish on this issue than us.
"puffed up claims of assisting the Iraqi insurgence" We actualy captured iranian army trainers training insurgents with iranian weapons.

[dolphy]

Please post your link. But even if it is true, what moral ground can we stand on when we are the invaders and we are in countless countries messing up democratically elected governments and killing thousands of innocents?

[WLA]

Please cite your "sources."

[Soundofthunder]

Please check THIS link to a NEWER story that discredits sonofdy1's link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/05/iraq-the-elusiv.html

In other words, the claims of Iranian weapons are pure bunk. Out of 20,000 pieces, NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS OF IRANIAN ORIGIN. The odds against none of them being from Iran, if Iran was indeed supplying weapons, are astronomical. I dare you to take a sample of 20,000 of anything and not come across ONE example of a variation if the sample group indeed includes that variation. Any sample size this large has an error variance so small no statistician could sanely conclude there are still significant cashes of Iranian weapons being used in Iraq.

SOT

[sonofdy1]

A BLOG???? LOL man you will buy anything as long as it sounds right won't you?

[maxdenn]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

[Ariadne]

I have been trying to post a comment all morning and they won't let me. Really takes all the fun out of the misery of the Bush years.

[sonofdy1]

I do not approve...... NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!

[jubo]

That picture... is reminiscent of a certain Elizabeth Taylor/John Warner quip.... oh nevermind.

[dolphy]

He's tring to show how big W's ass is with all the Rethugs in it.

[maxdenn]

McCain has the potential to be more dangerous than Bush.

[Meggie]

you are so right. poor education, warmonger, and the anger on top of it. scarey.

[Princeton]

PTSD. read on from today's news to see how serious it can be:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lisold0706,0,814136,print.story

[maxdenn]

McCain is a right wing nut with extermely close ties to Karl Rove and George Bush.

[maxdenn]

If it were not for his wife's money, John McCain would be a nobody today.

[WLA]

He may have stayed with his first wife.

[dolphy]

Computer says "NO". The guy will do whatever it takes to get up the ladder. He's kind of delusional and egomaniacal.

[CyrilOReily]

Now THAT is an fummy one.

[jdmccl]

Sounds like John Kerry. Both are respectable senators. Also sounds like Pelosi, Boxer, the list goes on. If the dems didn't elect McCain in the primary, he would still be just a senator.

[syllepsis]

Really, what''s pathetic is that this exercise in profiteering and atrocity is being finaced by blank checks from a Democratic Congress.

[sonofdy1]

What will you guys do when you can't blame the GOP for your own messes??? Remember the promises to "drain the swamp"? Apparrantly that only applies to republicans.

[MourningDude]

A "blank check" only tells half the story.

If the Dems had written a "blank check", perhaps Bush would have spent the 70 billion he requested. Instead, they passed a bill for $167 billion, which is 230% of what Bush deemed necessary.

A blank check would have been preferable to the reckless, frivolous bill the Dems actually passed.

[deeppeace]

Iraq is the central front? "Al Qaeda has even said it is." Well, then it MUST be true!!

I wouldn't vote for this clown even if we shared party affiliation. When is SOMEone going to call him on his total disconnect?

For the rest of the time I have left on earth, when I hear anyone say, "My friends..." I will shudder.