John McCain: I Know How To Catch Bin Laden

With reporting by Rachel Weiner

Last week, John McCain proclaimed that he knew how to win wars. Today, he's taking it a step further, telling voters that he not only knows how to capture and bring to justice Osama bin Laden, but is going to do it.

Appearing on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, the Arizona Republican was reminded that he had vowed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice and was asked how he would differ in that task from President Bush.

Initially saying that he would not "telegraph" the specifics, McCain declared, "Look, I know the area, I've been there, I know wars, I know how to win wars, and I know how to improve our capabilities so that we will capture Osama bin Laden -- or put it this way, bring him to justice... We will do it, I know how to do it."

Proclaiming that he will capture the elusive terrorist leader -- and knows how to do it -- is a fairly bold assertion and leads to the question: what information is McCain holding back from the Bush administration?

But the Senator has made broad foreign policy promises before. This past week he told a crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico: "I know how to win wars. I know how to win wars... And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory, I know how to do that."

In today's CNN interview, McCain suggested that a Nuremberg Trial-style hearing for bin Laden would be appropriate upon his capture.

"We have various options. The Nuremberg Trials are certainly an example of the kind of tribunal that we could move forward with. I don't think we'd have any difficulty in devising an international -- internationally supported mechanism that would mete out justice. There's no problem there."

Early in the campaign, it should be noted, McCain went hard after Barack Obama for saying that Bin Laden should not be a "martyr." Obama also suggested Nuremburg as a model -- to which McCain replied that Obama didn't understand the reference.

Comments

[Hillrick]

Yeah. Elmer Fudd told him how to trap the wascawy tewwowist. Just tie a George Bush lookalike over top of his hidey hole and when he comes out to get him Wham! no more bin Waden! Easy cheesy.

[PlantGod72]

Watcha gonna do Johnnyboy.­......trip him with your walker???

[Ajegunle]

LOL

[enlighteninglad]

Jo hn Mc Cain can win the war and find bin La den like I can fly the space shuttle. Its been said many times, this is really getting pathetic. Come November, Mc Cain is going to look like the guy that wipes out on the ski jump on the opening of Wide World of Sports. (Am I dating myself with that reference?)

[ErnestineBass]

"Hans, loook, yar joompnsplatzen!"

[Doofus]

Welcome to The New Secret Plan. Haven't heard
the like since '68, from Tricky Dick Nixon & his
faithful companion, Henry the K.

YES! McCain 'knows how to capture OBL'.

My friend the philosopher knows how to find (say) a 'Lion' in
any given building, if there is one. First, construct a 'Lion Filter',
which is a device that will pass any piece of matter except a lion.
Then, pass the building in question THROUGH the filter. Any lion
which was in the building will be caught in the filter.

It couldn't be any easier.

Clearly, OBL can be caught in much the same way.

[StanTheManic]

Yeah, and Nixon had a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam...

[Gib]

Don't knock it, it worked for Nixon.

[indc]

He must have been seeing too many action hero movies... he appears to know very little about his own declared expertise... yet I am sure he would do a fine job apprehending bin laden in the vacinity of the Iraqi-Pakistan border, particularly with his knowledge of the area which is unmatched by any other expert.

[RobertaInCT]

He's favorite tv program is 24..........how scary is that.

[ErnestineBass]

Given his history, that's pretty twisted...

[ErnestineBass]

Yeeee gads...a macho man show that glamorizes torture. Go figure.

[obamagramma]

McCain knows how to find Bin Laden? Has he just figured out The Google Maps ?

[ErnestineBass]

It'll be 2010 before he manages to locate all eight of his houses on GM.

[obamagramma]

McCain knows how to catch Bin Laden? Thanks for sharing your knowledge during the past 7 years of war !

[Hagrid]

Keeping the secret is simply treasonous!

[watcher269]

And how hard can that be - he's at the Crawford Ranch!

[RobertaInCT]

He's at G itmo.........

[BobBrown]

McCain is hopeless. He thinks Alqaida springs out from Iran, he confuses shiite and suni. Old dogs learn no new tricks! He still thinks there is a country called Chekoslovaquia.

[debrouillard]

Well.He knows how to capture Bin Laden.Only he seems to think Bin Laden is in Iraq or the border between parkistan and Iraq. He wants to capture Bin Laden who is in Afghanistan but he wants to send more troops but to Iraq. Sometimes I wonder if it isnt boring to the journalist who gets to interview him,as he never makes much sense and never coordinates his stories

[LAB10]

The journalist's only problem is trying to figure out how to edit out all of his lies/senior moments/ga­ffes/blund­ers/stumbe­s and mis-speaks----w/o getting caught.

[RobertaInCT]

When I saw him standing in front of that cheese display, it finally dawned on me that he's pis* off about 2000 and is throwing the election......

[ErnestineBass]

Was it cheese or Velveeta...?

[tedbear]

First McCain would have to learn to read a map to figure out where to start. How would McCain know how to catch a bus? I'm sure he has never caught one. He thinks he knows how to win a war, and I have no idea where he could have learned that. The only war he was in was in the 1960's where he got shot down and put in prison. I hate to break the news to him, but that isn't "knowing" what you are doing. That is "not" knowing what you are doing, isn't it?

[RobertAndropolis]

McCombover does know how to catch one bus: the Straight Talk Express bus. Straight to hell.

[rupert12]

"I know how to win wars." Right. Newsflash, John: Vietnam was not a win.

[RobertAndropolis]

Technically, it was not a war. Perhaps he was referring to the War of 1812.