McCain Leaks Details Of Obama's Iraq Trip

Reuters reports that McCain shared details of Obama's trip to Iraq at a fundraiser:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is likely to be in Iraq over the weekend.

The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon.

Josh Marshall points out that there's something very wrong with this:

The Reuters piece hints at it. But if Obama is going to be in Iraq this weekend, this is a major breach on McCain's part. As a knowledgeable insider notes ...

"If it is true that Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, it is a very serious mistake for McCain to have disclosed it publicly. Even for run-of-the-mill CODELs the military gives guidance like, "Please strongly discourage Congressional offices from issuing press releases prior to their trips which mention their intent to travel to the AOR and/or the dates of that travel or their scheduled meetings. Such releases are a serious compromise to OPSEC." If Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, I can not begin to imagine how much this is complicating the security planning for the trip."

It's known that Obama is leaving on his foreign trip this weekend and the Journal OpEd page this morning said that Obama could arrive in Iraq "as early as this weekend." And with a slew of reporters in tow, it's not exactly highly classified information. But there is a reason definite information about these sorts of trips aren't released in advance.

Hypothetically, maybe McCain was just guessing. But even so it would still be a serious lapse of judgment on his part.

In fact, McCain was furious when the press reported on his son serving in Iraq -- he feared the coverage would make him a target.

Comments

[DEMTRUPATRIOTS]

God, please don't let obama have a michael dukakis pic come back from this trip....you know, when he looked like a midget in his daddys army helmet riding around in a tank....you know..like the kid on mad magazine. that will be the death of his campaign...and the the dem party

[poropo]

is very disappointing that this man want O to be killed everyone should hold him accountable if anything happen to barack.

[abby4ever]

I am no fan of McHopeless, but this is just another hysterical, misleading, dishonest headline.

[Flagal]

Yes, but it gives us a chance for role reversal, ie: we can make jokes at Johnny M's expense, instead of the other way around.

[abby4ever]

True.

[NTO08]

When does that happen on this website?
The headlines on here are a bit ridiculous, and one-sided...not even a hair's breadth attempt to be objective...posters and bloggers on here whine about the MSM having it out for Obama...which, of course, is sheer nonsense, and yet a silly thing like this becomes a major drama...sort of like the whining and kvetching that went on over The New Yorker cartoon...it said more about the lunacy of his followers than the illustration.

[gladys46]

McFloppedFool ... needs to be censored by the US Congress for aiding & abeting & giving comfort to the enemy by suggesting the whereabout­s/schedule of a fellow US senator abroad!!

[Flagal]

Reuters reports that McCain shared details of Obama's trip to Iraq at a fundraiser:

The poor ol guy. When asked why he shared this information Johnny M replied " My mother always told me it is good to "share".

[LuvDaH8ters]

I guess the paid repug bloggers dont work weekends....

[frankifrost]

Proving once again (such as dropping bombs on people in that other unjust war)
his complete disregard for human life.

[GoCards1978]

You got that right, and he'll do anything to win in November. Desperation certainly is ugly.

[frankifrost]

HEY GANG.
LET'S ALL START CALLING HIM
MR.MCGOO.

[ThunderclapNewman]

It's Magoo---and it's already being done.

[NTO08]

Sometimes one wonders about Huffpo...outdated, uninteresting news items proliferate in off hours.

[AmericanSinceFeb08]

Awful gaffe by Mr. McCain. It is time for him to stop talking. Who knows what he will gaffe on next. Nuclear codes? Who knows!!!!

[tandrmcdonald]

Once again McCain displays his intrinsic hypocrisy. He's furious when mention is made that his son, by his first wife, is in Iraq, but opens his spew-hole about Senator Obama's trip.without hesitation. If McCain was forced to play by the "rules" he'd probably be out of politics.If the unthinkable happens as a result of flannel-mouth McCain's leak I'm sure the Republicans will be absolutely delighted. The point is, John McCain will do anything to get into the Oval Office.

[ReasonableBill]

For a man that seems to know all about "Security", McCain's time has passed.

[jcwtts1]

What would happen if Obama did this to McCain... what would the GOP hardliners say about Obama. We should say the same thing about him... that he is incompetent, that he is losing his bearings, that he is unable to govern because of judgment or age.

[DaveV]

This shows us the mind set of the individual who wants to be president,yet again disregards proper etiquette on whether or not to release vital information. Haven't we had enough of this type of decision making in the last seven and a half years to last us a life time.

[bodo]

McCain was fooled again! Obama went on a surprise visit to Afghanistan instead!

[rollingdivision]

So who gave out the details of Obama's trip? The Obama campaign, the secret service, the nations he's visiting, who? How did McCain get the details of Obama's trip? Since the same level of detail was in the news before does repeating the general consensus about the trip schedule count as a leak?

[DerAmi]

230 pending comments.... one politician's name spell correctly... already 17 pages.

I'll check back in 8 to 10 hours.

[NochlessMonster]

If you spell the mavericky names correctly... you will never get posted...........

[ThunderclapNewman]

Why the name change?

[abby4ever]

omg, not the dreaded High Profile Name Filter again!

[ThunderclapNewman]

Try to remember that it's like posting at the Reader's Digest.

[abby4ever]

Too optimistic, make it 12 to 18 hours.

[BeltwayBette]

This post is just for my own amusement. You criticize those whose spelling offends your "spelling police" criteria . . . implying what? But ahem, the word "spell" as you use it is incorrect. Your use is present tense; your sentence structure requires "spelled" -- past tense.

Moral? Those who live in glass houses should keep their curtains closed.

[Cil]

230 pending comments.........

Like you I have been keeping track of spelling and grammar errors....­......but, unlike you, for a totally different reason, and please, I DO NOT MAKE CLAIMS TO BEING AN EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO SPELLING AND GRAMMAR!

The reason that I have been tracking this problem, is VERY SIMPLE, it has made me AWARE OF THE GROWING STRESS LEVEL of most AMERICANS, there is however another REASON for the situation that seems to be getting on YOUR NERVES........ This is the FACT that people are typing too fast, in an attempt to get their comments posted before comments are closed for a specific article....This is ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR CNN.....the posters are in such a hurry, that most of them can't/won't spare the time to do a SPELL/GRAMMAR CHECK.

So please, be a little more understanding and stop being SO CRITICAL...it really is not necessary in situations such as this!

[lhurley3171]

All of your ranting is interesting considering that McCain said he didn't know the schedule. In fact, I doubt Sen. Obama goes to Iraq this exact weekend. He especially won't now. He is planning to tour the entirety of Europe, too. McCain is just trying to delay the inevitable and make that clock tick a few more days.

All of these comments seem like grasping at straws.

[NochlessMonster]

You too can get mavericky points for spreading lies for MCspamalot­..........­..... a free toaster, a roll of tin foil we know not.... but check it out.... mavericky goodness is sure to come your way.........

[loria]

Well, McCain did show he was a Maverick when he went against his own party with the McCain Feingold Finance Reform. But, he has since gone against his own maverickyness by finding a loophole in his own law. He has decided that there is no need to get the big money out of the campaign now that he needs the wealthy donors, the lobbyists and the PAC money. What'smore is that he is going to accept public funding while using the loophole to raise as much money as he can. BTW, doesn't a maverick say "screw you, I'm going to do what works best for me?". If that is one of the definitions of a maverick, McCain may well be a maverick.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/21/mccain-financing-structur_n_97816.html