Another John McCain Gaffe -- Iraq Was the First Major Conflict After 9/11

There is one more John McCain gaffe that the media missed from the now famous CBS interview with Katie Couric.

This is the same interview in which McCain claimed the surge led to the Anbar Awakening, which is demonstrably false. But watch below for another gaffe when McCain says Iraq was the first major conflict after 9/11.

Was Afghanistan not major enough for him? It almost reminds you of when Don Rumsfeld was not impressed with invading Afghanistan because it did not provide a rich enough target environment. He needed something more major.

In all likelihood, this was a simple mental mistake for McCain, among a litany of others recently. But it does go toward state of mind. They never saw Afghanistan as a priority.

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Comments

[Awakenedcitizen]

02:43 AM on 07/27/2008

Here's the thing, posting here is OK, if you want to make an impact, write a letter to the editor of your local paper, go to the McCain website and send them a message.

[noamjunior]

02:03 PM on 07/26/2008

McCain is not forgetful and these are not Gaffe's.
page one of the repulican playbook- Say whatever you think best makes the point you are trying to get across- regardless of its complete disconnect with reality

[dmmathis]

09:23 AM on 07/26/2008

The media is doing Sen. McCain a favor by refering to his statements as gaffes. He has a poor understand­ing of everything that is important in our time, not a poor memory.

[Maccabees]

06:15 PM on 07/25/2008

I'm getting tired of reading about McCain's gaffes. I get the point. When he speaks, he mispeaks. He's not qualified.

I realize that what he says and does is "news", but none of it is actually "new".

He likes to fight; wants to drop bombs; loves to tell history "the way it should have been"; and talk about the good old days.

OK. He's a "warrior". I respect the fact that THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO he had just been released from a prison camp. Thirty five years ago Elvis was still alive, the Knicks beat the Lakers in 5 games for the NBA championsh­ip and tricky Dick Nixon was waist deep in Watergate. So?

Being a "good man" does not mean he's a "qualified man". His time has come and gone.

[janvoght]

10:12 PM on 07/25/2008

sen john mc cain is a good man, AND he is very forgetful. this does not bode well for the type of leader America will require to pull us out of the deep blunders of the last two terms. rewarding this American hero with four years to sit as the president of the USA, is not the reward he deserves, nor is it what America needs.
obama '08

[Dave01]

12:27 AM on 07/27/2008

I have seen enough of him (he was my senator for 14 years) and I'm learning just how much of a good man that he is NOT.

[shelobo]

03:08 PM on 07/25/2008

McCain also got it wrong about the Sunni sheik who John McCain said was protected by the surge and subsequent­ly helped lead the Anbar Awakening, the sheik he was referring to was actually assassinat­ed by an al-Qaeda led group in MIDST of the surge.The sheiks murder took place even with the surge underway. In September 2007, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, the sheik widely credited with persuading Sunni leaders to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, died in a bomb attack in Anbar. His work, prior to then, was held as a major effort in transformi­ng the province from one of Iraq’s deadliest areas into one of its safest.McC­ains memory is going, going gone!

[Veeve]

11:54 AM on 07/25/2008

I don't think this is a gaffe so much as it is a clue into the Bush/McCai­n mindset. Afghanista­n was never on their agenda. Bringing those who would murder 3000 Americans to justice, is just not important in Bush-McCai­n world. They just wanted Iraq as their gas pump in the Middle East. The fact that they have caused the murder of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis never mattered to these thugs. One brown person is the same as the next to them and killing is killing and as long as they are killing, they are happy. It's sad and pathetic.

[littlenoodles]

12:15 PM on 07/26/2008

>I don't think this is a gaffe so much as it is a clue into the Bush/McCai­n mindset...

...in more ways than one. Either McCain's mental capacity is severely degraded, or these misstateme­nts are intentiona­l. Think about it. McCain's gaffes all serve the very Bushian purpose of confusing the public about who the enemy is and what we're fighting for.

McCain must know that Iran is Shiite, that the surge is a desparate attempt to salvage a disaster (not a 'victory' in any meaningful sense of the word), that Iraq was at best a diversion of attention from the true problem, and that all of this amounts to harnessing US power for political purposes. He knows that the only way Republican­s win support for their anti-popul­ist policies is by keeping the public misinforme­d about just what those policies are. And these gaffes are right up that ally.

[exflatlander]

12:58 PM on 07/27/2008

In the end, the Bushies persuaded the American people that they were best prepared to protect us from terrorism, even though the worst terrorist incident ever to occur on ourt homeland occurred under their watch. They are very skiled at taking advantage of American stupidity. And abetted by FOX News.

[robjh1]

11:16 AM on 07/25/2008

Why are McCain's gaffes always put out there and nothing about Obama, who constantly makes gaffes? Is the media being biased?

[Yaa]

12:29 PM on 07/25/2008

Please mention a few of Mr. Obama's constant gaffes.

[hawkeye58]

03:17 PM on 07/25/2008

We're still waiting...

[shelobo]

03:12 PM on 07/25/2008

The media is FAIR ,BALANCED AND UNBIASED ,haven't you paid any attention to FOX ?Besides McCains not going to remember if the media was biased or unbiased this time next month !

[ajax2]

10:32 AM on 07/25/2008

At his age forgetting something that happened 6 years ago is not a gaffe, but quite normal. I speak from experience­.

[tonyrich]

12:10 PM on 07/25/2008

But, your not running for President

[JustMyWords]

07:45 PM on 07/25/2008

I'm thinking that if your claim to fame is your incredible military & foreign policy experience­, it's a pretty big gaffe to forget an entire war.

[exflatlander]

01:05 PM on 07/27/2008

Well, let's not forget that this "war" was over in Bush minds almost as soon as it started."I­don't think about him very much [Osama]." George W, Bush

[NotaBeliever]

09:21 AM on 07/25/2008

According to the news this morning, the good senator's numbers are improving against Senator Obama's numbers. Last night on Letterman, Dave posed his usual 'who ya gonna vote for?' question and McCain won. I read in the letters to the editor of the local paper that down-home folk are more interested in drilling for oil than making nice-nice with people and leaders across the pond. Something'­s happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear. Just thought I'd mention it.

[Kram]

11:44 AM on 07/25/2008

The morons will elect McSame. American voters are the dumbest people on earth. The fact that people would even consider ANY republican after eight years of Bush, is the most depressing testemonia­l to American stupidity there is.

[tonyrich]

12:08 PM on 07/25/2008

TRUE

[shelobo]

03:14 PM on 07/25/2008

Americans are NOT dumb,we just TRUST our 'leaders' to much. Just as you do and many people all over the world do,except we have FOX news to get us the REAL truth ,don't we ?Darn I meant MSNBC ,wait maybe its News Hounds I'm thinking of .....'sigh­' blame on my age !

[shelobo]

03:42 PM on 07/25/2008

Watch this site along with the http://ele­ctoral-vot­e.com/ and this one http://ele­ctoral-vot­e.com/evp2­008/Pres/e­c_graph-20­08.html ,at the site there is a link (the presidenta­l polls daily) to EACH state that plays a major role in the election such as ....CO MI MN MS ND NH PA WI ,McCain is ahead slightly in only a few states from looking at the graphs.It'­s a close race VERY VERY close.

[mergina]

09:11 AM on 07/25/2008

THIS GUY WON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT HE ORDERS THE MILITARY TO DO.
RETIRE HIM ALREADY...­.AARRRGGGH­HHHHHH!!!!­!!

[CyrusBeaucephus]

09:13 AM on 07/25/2008

He says he knows how to win wars. I guess our hard hitting media didn't bother to follow up on the specifics of that claim

[BPCentrisAmerican]

09:29 AM on 07/25/2008

He says he knows how to win wars. The probem is he just can't remember them.

[noamjunior]

03:16 PM on 07/26/2008

like he won vietnam?

[AspenFreePress]

10:35 AM on 07/25/2008

The Aspen Free Press is covering John McCain when he arrives in Aspen this afternoon to meet with the Dalai Lama at a private residence here. A Denver protest group reportedly is en route to Aspen. McCain will have a statement for media when he arrives but will not answer questions. Do you want pix?
Sterling Greenwood
Aspen Free Press

[shelobo]

03:22 PM on 07/25/2008

Reportably the Dalai Lama is secretly preparing to make a deal with China has been growing since two of his envoys made a trip to Beijing last September. They visited China again in late May, in the first direct contact between both sides since 1993.And McCain is hopeing to score some points with the Dalai lama ,that way McCain can continue the close relationsh­ip with China that the Bushs have always enjoyed.Ch­ina's Communist leaders and the Bush family have always been close. When daddy Bush, functionin­g as ambassador to China, was cavorting around Beijing with his secretary/­mistress, China's security apparatus was discrete about the rather brazen affair and the leadership kept its mouth shut right through the course of Bush's political career....­...this link explains better than I can...http://www­.counterpu­nch.org/li­ndorff0218­2004.html

[shelobo]

03:30 PM on 07/25/2008

You can buy tickets to hear the Dalai Lama speak ,a thousand dollars each,McCai­n WILL make a haul off this one.http://www­.aspenfree­press.com/

[notepad2]

08:18 AM on 07/25/2008

Ramblings from the Most Magnificen­t One.

Talking about a tornado in May - “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.­" Twleve people were killed.

“Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”

In Sioux Falls, S. D. - “Thank you, Sioux City. ... I said it wrong. I’ve been in Iowa for too long. I’m sorry.”

When trailing Clinton in Kentucky - “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it’s not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle.” Has there been an earthquake recently that has moved Arkansas closer to Kentucky than Illinois is?

Incoherent­ly speaking on the anniversar­y of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Ala. - “There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Ala., because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.” The New Messiah was born 4 years before the Selma march.

[idest]

08:27 AM on 07/25/2008

This is relevant to the above article how? Maybe you can try explaining why John McCain thinks Iraq was the first major conflict after 9/11. I can't figure it out.

[recruitgal]

08:47 AM on 07/25/2008

LOL.. OK, I'm not defending him, but he and Clinton were working a ridiculous­ly punishing schedule, and it's hardly surprising he made a few mistakes.

I don't expect either candidate to be super human, but I expect them to have a firm grasp of policy issues, and McCain clearly doesn't.

[Insearchoftruth]

08:12 AM on 07/25/2008

Yesterday much attention was given to a poll that said BO is a riskier choice. That means that people are not connecting McCain's reconstruc­tions, missteps, lost thoughts, forgotten facts, temper etc to the idea of his finger resting on the most awesome military machine the world has ever known. A machine that has spent the last generation building a rapid respnse capability to strike anywhere in the world in minutes. The lack of discipline McCain is displaying should scare the hell of everyone. This is not funny.

[Merckx]

07:57 AM on 07/25/2008

I can't watch it. It's too gruesome to think that this guy is even in with a chance of being our next president.

[mi]

07:05 AM on 07/25/2008

It's almost sad to watch if he wasn't running for President.
Which makes him a lethal threat to our Nation.

[sloLes]

11:25 AM on 07/25/2008

These two comments, by Merckx & mi, sum it up. Our major democratic elections have deteriorat­ed into contests between two people chosen very early in the process by the major media, which is owned by less than a dozen wealthy families. And their primary goal seems to be to enrich themselves­.

If one spends too much time here, one tends to believe McCain is the only candidate with flaws. But Obama seems enthusiast­ic to support Israeli ethnic cleansing and illegal land confiscati­on & new settlement­s ringing Jerusalem. And he was positively eager to fight the terrorism of others, without ever looking at American sponsored terrorism. Yes, Obama is bright, witty, and mentally shape. But he is also carrying a huge load of 'Cultural Baggage.' And he shows no signs of being aware of his burden.

Obama was chosen by the media, because he's vulnerable­. They've always planned on pulling the rug from beneath him in October and pushing for his opponent. If McCain can last that long, he has a real good chance of being elected.!

Indeed, American electoral democracy has gotten very sad!