McCain Criticizes Obama and Clinton on Iraq

By: Andante Higgins
Topics: John McCain

(CBS)

From CBS News' Dante Higgins:

On the day before Gen. David Petraeus will be grilled on Capitol Hill about Iraq, John McCain will criticize his Democratic opponents this morning during a speech in Kansas City, Mo.

"I do not want to keep our troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary to secure our interests there," McCain will say at the Veterans of Foreign Wars headquarters, according to prepared remarks.

"But I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for President that they cannot keep if elected. To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility. It is a failure of leadership," he continues.

"The American people deserve the truth from their leaders. They deserve a candid assessment of the progress we have managed to make in the last year in preventing the worst from happening in Iraq, of the very serious difficulties that remain, and of the grave consequences of a hasty, reckless, and irresponsible withdrawal. If we are honest about the opportunities and the risks, I believe they will have the patience to allow us the time necessary to obtain our objectives.

"That honesty is my responsibility, and it is also the responsibility of Senators Obama and Clinton, as well as Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. Doing the right thing in the heat of a political campaign is not always the easiest thing. But when 4,000 Americans have given their lives so that America does not suffer the worst consequences of our failure in Iraq, it is a necessary thing. In such a grave matter, we must put the nation's interests before our own ambitions."

Meantime, McCain concluded his biography tour over the weekend in his home state of Arizona. In his last speech he talked about the early years of Senate career and credited former Sens. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., and Mo Udall, D-Ariz., for their bipartisan influence on him. McCain said the challenges we face today require the same type of effort, as he vowed to lead in their example by reaching across the aisle.

Tomorrow, McCain will attend the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with Petraeus.

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by mattcat25 April 8, 2008 12:40 PM EDT: The war is going great but, not great enough to declare a victory.
The victory is within our grasp, but not anytime soon.
Anytime soon we can see a complete reconciliation of all parties in Iraq but, then there%u2019s Iran!

$12 Billion Dollars a month every month, month after month is what the American People are paying for and the people conducting (taking the money) this campaign have, and continue to lie to us.; Reply to this comment


by vincan-2009 April 8, 2008 3:51 AM EDT: Iraq is not any better and it won''t be until we are out of there. McCain has become Bush and Cheney''s best liar yet. McCain goes all over and tells the lies that the whitehouse has told from the beginning of this disaster.; Reply to this comment


by sjbj2322 April 8, 2008 1:32 AM EDT: Neh....didn''t you hear. They''re having barbeque after the hearing and Obama got assigned the job of doing the cookin since he''s so far down on the totem pole and doesn''t have anything substantive to contribute to the hearing anyway. Oh and they''re using paper plates and plastic utensils cause HILLARY DOESN''T DO DISHES!!; Reply to this comment


by blkpresident April 8, 2008 12:37 AM EDT: For her own sake I hope lil'' Hillary doesn''t ask General Petraeus what he thinks of stainless steel pots and pans. She should save those kind of questions for Martha Stewart instead. Maybe one of her staffers can hold her hand while she asks General Patraeus a few questions. May not be a bad idea so lil'' Hillary remembers to say "Iraq" instead of "Iran". And to think some people want this soccer mom to be president.; Reply to this comment


by shingles1 April 7, 2008 6:57 PM EDT: "The American people deserve the truth from their leaders."

And that would include John McCain who seems constitutionally incapable of speaking the truth about Iraq.

Frank Rich:

Mr. McCain was just as wrong about Basra as he was in 2003, when he said the war would be %u201Cbrief%u201D and be paid for by Iraqi oil revenues. Or as he was in the 1990s, when he championed extravagant State Department funding for the war instigator Ahmad Chalabi, who%u2019d already been branded untrustworthy by the C.I.A. (The relationship between Mr. Chalabi and the former lobbyist Charles Black, now a chief McCain campaign strategist, is explored in a new book, %u201CThe Man Who Pushed America to War,%u201D by Aram Roston.)

As for Basra, Mr. McCain told Joe Klein of Time in January that it was %u201Cnot a problem.%u201D He told John King of CNN while in Baghdad last month that Mr. Sadr%u2019s %u201Cinfluence has been on the wane for a long time.%u201D When the battle ended last week, Mr. McCain said: %u201CApparently it was Sadr who asked for the cease-fire, declared a cease-fire. It wasn%u2019t Maliki. Very rarely do I see the winning side declare a cease-fire.%u201D At least the last of those sentences was accurate. It was indeed the losing side %u2014 Maliki%u2019s %u2014 that pleaded for the cease-fire.; Reply to this comment


by jgunther7 April 7, 2008 5:06 PM EDT: Poor old Bomb Bomb McCain, a hundred years is a big minute longer. However in politic speak, everything is relative. France and England used to have hundred year wars.; Reply to this comment


by forthepeopl1 April 7, 2008 4:18 PM EDT: shoot first then ask question john mccbush; Reply to this comment


by mattcat25 April 7, 2008 4:07 PM EDT: After 5-6 years of US invasion, occupation, and civil ethnic conflict I believe the Iraqi people have experienced enough calamitous consequences. By the way, who is going to get all the oil? And, when will it be available to be purchased by the American People at the new inflated (because of war) prices?; Reply to this comment


by truth-hurts April 7, 2008 2:25 PM EDT: Forget it John. The only shot you have at the White House is if Obama gets the nomination. Oh, I forgot....you already know that don''t you?; Reply to this comment