McCain Spokesman: U.S. Should Leave If Iraq Wants Us Out

Aides to Sen. John McCain sought on Wednesday to clear up their boss' position on Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's recent insistence that a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops be included in any security agreement between the two countries.

"John McCain has always been clear that American forces operate in Iraq only with the consent of that country's democratically elected government," Michael Goldfarb, a McCain spokesman, told the Huffington Post. "The Senator speaks frequently with Iraq's leaders and they have made clear that they share his belief that any timeline for withdrawal must be dictated by the facts on the ground. He met with the foreign minister and President separately within the last month...He met with Maliki on his last trip to Iraq sometime in late March."

Goldfarb's remarks represent a more pronounced effort to bring McCain's position on Iraq in line with Maliki's. McCain has forsworn deadlines for troop withdrawal -- insisting that it be tied to conditions on the ground -- and he did not, initially, express support the prime minister's position.

"Prime Minister Maliki is the leader of a country and I'm confident he will act as the President and the Foreign Minister both told me in the last several days," said the presumptive Republican nominee. "It will be directly related to the situation on the ground -- just as they have always said. And since we are succeeding, I am convinced, as I have said before, we will withdraw with honor, not according to a set timetable."

On Wednesday, aides to the Senator continued to argue that Maliki's statement was public posturing designed to improve his hand during the negotiations of a status of forces agreement.

McCain's allies also were forced to make concessions today in rationalizing how the U.S. could keep troops in Iraq against that country's wishes. Peter Hegseth, the head of the non-partisan Vets For Freedom (an advocacy group that supports McCain's Iraq War plan), acknowledged during a conference on Wednesday that the next president would ultimately have to listen to Maliki's directives.

"I think the Iraqi prime minister's prerogative is obviously important," he said. "They are a sovereign country. Their wishes, I think, are going to be granted by our government. And we've created an opportunity for them to make these kinds of statements and I think that is a good thing."

Critics of the war have jumped on Maliki's remark as evidence that criticism of Obama's Iraq policy (which calls for a responsible drawdown of U.S. troops) is entirely unfounded. They noted that Iraq's National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie restated his government's desire to see a decrease in U.S. presence, on Tuesday. And pointed to a 2004 remark given by John McCain in front of the Council of Foreign Relations, in which the Senator said the U.S. "would have to leave," if the Iraqi government asked it to.

Comments

[NateJ]

"John McCain has always been clear that American forces operate in Iraq only with the consent of that country's democratically elected government."

You mean, that country's democratically elected government that wouldn't exist if the US didn't engage in regime change and nation building.

Let's install a puppet! Then stay there when they say they want us to...and then stay there when they say they don't want us to.

[sytgrl]

The only reason why McBush is agreeing with this is that he knows that without a new SOFA it will be illegal for the US to be there if the Iraq government doesn't want us to be after December 31st, and if he is president (god forbid) he will have no choice but to leave.

[lovethesinner]

The part that scares me most about McCain is his seeming lack of caution.

I don't think it has anything to do with his age, his record in the military, or even his capture in Vietnam.

He's just a "bring it on" kind of dude.

George Bush and John McCain both had powerful, but detached fathers. They could get away with a lot. Neither distinguished themselves scholastically (McCain graduated 894th out of 899 at Annapolis) and yet found themselves in privileged positions in the same field as their fathers.

"Maybe that'll kill 'em", (McCain's latest gaffe) is a disturbing statement on so many levels. It suggests that he regards Iranians as not worthy of life.

Why?

Because they want to build a nuclear reactor for electricity? Because they have a firebrand for a President (a President with little actual power, since all military decisions in Iran are made by the Mullahs.)

Isn't it more likely that the real reason McCain wants to pressure Iran is because he's WORKING FOR all the same oil people that Bush and Cheney are working for? (Phil Graham, his Enron wife, and don't forget Charlie Black)

Are they really interested in protecting Israel, and America, or are they just protecting the OIL PROFITS of multinational corporations?

I'd prefer to have a President with no history of working for lobbyists. A man who parented himself, and who distinguished himself academically, and in his career as a legislator and a community organizer.

Barack Obama in '08

[TJoad]

Daddy Cheney speaking to Mommy Bush and Uncle McCain:

"Oh look, our darling little Iraqy is starting to grow up and wants to be just like an all grown up sovereign nation! How cute! We have to be stern, however, and not give in or else this will encourage little Iraqy to engage in future bad behavior and manners . Don’t worry, this is just an acting-out phase that all newly installed puppet regimes go through."

[lungfish]

If Iraq wants us to leave we should leave. Its their country, we don't set the conditions, they do. If it all goes
to hell a week later, we still are obligated to leave. Iraq didn't attack us. It didn't send terrorists after us. Any threat it may represent to our security was created by our own actions. Bush co with Dem collaborators created the insurgency and Al Qaeda in Iraq by destabilizing the country to the point that it became a magnet for radicals. Again, not Iraq's fault.
If they want us to go, then we should go. After all, billions of dollars have been handed to them and can't even be accounted for at this point. How much more do they need from us? If we left they could get on with getting their electricity and infrastructure into working order, deal with their own political issues, and maybe sell some of that huge oil reserve to get themselves back on their feet. They don't need us, our corporations, our oil companies, our profiteering to make their country better. They need to focus on themselves without us looking over their shoulders and sink or swim like the Congo or any other country that we ignore.

[sansego2000]

Heard this same stuff from Bush a while back, remember? You saw how that went. So Here we go around and around. So pardon me if i think McCain and his lobbyists are full of it.

[Trueheart]

Difficult to hold a staunch position on a political/military situation which is ever-changing, unpredictable and requires flexible response.

[OriginalScreenName]

The McCain campaign is desperately trying to spin this before the press starts running with "Obama has been right about the war and how to handle it the entire way though."

[CompliantMedia]

So al-Maliki is insisting that a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops be included in any security agreement between the two countries.

McCain has said, in what could be percieved as a contradiction to al-Maliki's statement, that Iraq's leaders have made clear that they share his belief that any timeline for withdrawal must be dictated by the facts on the ground.

So is McCain's statement consistant with al-Maliki's? Who exactly are these Iraqi leaders? Did McCain mean to include al-Maliki as one of these leaders? Why didn't he simply say al-Maliki by name?

It may be wishful thinking on McCain's part that al-Maliki shares his view that a timeline must be dictated by the facts on the ground. Until al-Maliki responds in kind I am not sure McCain's position has much merit.

[appleknocker]

Iran's "democratically elected government"? Just how "democratically" was this government " elected"? Does anyone remember?

[nonconformist2]

Perfect timing. We can withdraw from Iraq, and send all our overworked troops straight into a yummy new war in Iran!

[nonconformist2]

I WILL NEVER EVER EVER SURRENDER, under no circumstances will I.........­........wh­at's that?
Al-Maliki wants us to leave?

Nevermind.

[IRepTheKing]

lol

[BhunduBoy]

Electoral lies.

[CTmom13]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eejYoz3Nl0
McSame can't make up his mind and he says Obama flip flopped? McSame has picked a new date aout a dozen times

[kay]

McCain has quietly removed all mention of cap and trade from both his website and his speeches.

It was the cornerstone of his claim to be an environmentalist.

Gone. Now he's President Bush.