McCain: Iraq War "Necessary And Just"

(AP)  Republican presidential contender John McCain on Wednesday called the four-year Iraq conflict "necessary and just" and accused anti-war Democrats, including the party's top White House candidates, of recklessness.

Struggling to reinvigorate his troubled campaign, McCain reiterated his longtime criticism that President Bush initially went to war without a plan to succeed. But he also backed the commander in chief's recent troop increase and said Bush is right to veto legislation that places conditions on the war.

"In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering" when House Democrats enthusiastically passed legislation setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal, the Arizona senator told cadets at the Virginia Military Institute.

"A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning, not celebrating," he added.

In a quick counter to McCain, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama challenged the Republican's assessment of improved security in Baghdad and argued that only a change in strategy will bring a responsible end to the conflict.

"What we need today is a surge in honesty," the Illinois senator said in a statement, contending that McCain was measuring progress in Iraq using "the same ideological fantasies" that led the U.S. into war.

Another Democratic contender, Sen. Chris Dodd, also said McCain is wrong.

"We don't need a surge of troops in Iraq. We need a surge of diplomacy," the Connecticut senator said in prepared remarks for an Iowa speech. "The Bush/McCain Doctrine is not succeeding. It is failing."

McCain has staked his candidacy on the war's outcome, planting himself firmly on the side of the president he hopes to succeed and the three in four Republicans who view the war as a worthy cause. Most Americans, however, call it a hopeless effort.

His remarks came a week after he made his fifth trip to Iraq, where he was criticized for saying he was cautiously optimistic of success even as he toured the capital under heavy military guard. Iraqis accused him of painting too rosy a picture and U.S. critics argued he was out of step with reality.

In a CBS News poll released Wednesday, 39 percent said when McCain talks about Iraq, he makes things sound better than they really are while 29 percent said he was describing the situation accurately. The poll, conducted before the speech, surveyed 480 adults and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Iraq episode threatened to undercut McCain's credibility on a signature issue — defense. Wednesday's address, to several hundred uniformed cadets at the military college's Jackson Memorial Hall, was intended to counter his critics and put his faltering presidential bid back on course.

The cadets mostly remained silent as he spoke but gave him a standing ovation when he finished the speech.

In the speech filled with rhetoric for the GOP base, McCain portrayed himself as a leader who puts the country's interests above politics and as the most qualified Republican candidate to counter Democratic calls for withdrawal.

"Lets put aside for a moment the small politics of the day," he said. "The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll."

He ignored his GOP rivals, all of whom support the president on the war but none of whom has McCain's military experience or has been as closely aligned with the conflict as the senator.

Instead, McCain assailed Democrats who control Congress, including "their leading candidates for president." It was a reference to Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Obama. Both voted for a troop withdrawal timetable.

McCain called the Democrats' pullout policy politically expedient but strategically disastrous. He accused Democrats who control Congress of acting in "giddy anticipation of the next election."

McCain said those like him who support Bush's troop increase chose the "hard road" but "right road."

"Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road," he said, referring to the standoff between Democrats and Bush over war funding and a timetable. "It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election."

A former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, McCain is the only top-tier GOP candidate to have served in the military and he is the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

[jerbear174]

FLAT TAX FAIR TAX. Do you need to file a 1040? Where is the code and section? Our government has been ripping us off for years with this scam. Working is our labor, time, therefor they pay us a wage. Not governments money IT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS. WHO IS PAYING OFF THE INTEREST TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE which is(CENTRAL BANK). YOU ARE THE WORKING CLASS OF AMERICA. Since when does a government need permission to print money??
THE CENTRAL BANKERS have are Major players in the United Nations, by the way the UN owns the deeds to alot of our national parks, that is a fact do your research they hide it as Bio Domes for research. Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Oregon National Park, and many many more.
Georgie is just a puppet he solely couldn't steal the first election, Florida little brother state (remember the chads)?? Rigging electronic voting machines in Ohio, after all they saw the most job loss. Those machines have codes but only select few I am guessing have to power to get the codes. Easily can be changed to a 51% 49% either way you want it to go.
I won't even go into 9/11 the scientific facts and physics do all the explaining in that one.

FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL TO FIND OUT WHO CONTROLS THE WORLD.
Read the consitution.

[bigal321321]

What happened to John McCain? Remember the maverick that used to stand up to the President? The guy that was more centrist and believed in the will of the people? What happened to make him jump ship to the Presidents side? I'm thinkin' a couple of things. One, he's been brainwashed into believing that we can win this (I guess they tapped into already latent memories of the Hanoi Hilton) or Two, the money. Large amounts of money, win or lose. It saddens me as a Democrat to think the only man that could've made me jump ship on my own party has gone the other way. Back to the frontrunners....Vote Edwards!

[speakinup]

I'm somewhat happy that many of you have this pressure release - writing your comments into this post. But, if you think you are doing anything constructive, you are, sadly, mistaken. All you do by beating your chest, yelling your opinions as if they were fact, and by making childish remarks is alienate more people that are not already of your ilk.

I would urge you to become less emotional and more pragmatic. Only under these conditions will we be able to work through these difficulties.

It is quite alright to tell someone to go to hell. But, make sure they are looking forward to the trip once you are done - that's the key.

In doing so, you will gain strength for your cause and not cause someone to hold on even stronger to their beliefs. Most likely, many of you are familiar with Aesop's fable of The Wind and the Sun. It would be good for all of us to live the thought when publishing here...

[toldyouso21]

CBS/AP) A bomb exploded in the Iraqi parliament's cafeteria in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday, killing as many as six lawmakers and wounding at least 10 other people.

So now markets in the middle of Bagdhad are safe as long as you have 100 heavily armed soldiers, 5 attack helicopters and clear the area in a 1 mile radius--

but...now the GREEN ZONE is not safe--at least for people eating lunch in the cafeteria. We don't have diminishing violence so much as we have SHIFTING VIOLENCE.

BUSH'S SURGE METASTICIZED LIKE A CANCER AND SPREAD LIKE SHRAPNEL ALL OVER IRAQ---INCLUDING INTO THE SO CALLED "SAFE HAVE" FORTRESS OF THE GREEN ZONE. Yep McCain, we see how safe it is alright.

[toldyouso21]

"CBS/AP) A bomb exploded in the Iraqi parliament's cafeteria in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday, killing at least two lawmakers and wounding 10 other people. "


Well, McCain, you can buy cheap rugs at the bazaar if you are bizarre enough to go with about 100 heavily armed soldiers , 5 attack helicopters and heavily armored humvees--but they can no longer eat lunch in the cafeteria in the "safe" GREEN ZONE without worrying someone will blow them up. Bombs in the Green zone are a new first huh? Yep, things ARE getting safer... NOT

[sevenveils]

There is a saying: You break it you buy it.

[weneedchange]

Could we tolerate another Clinton in the White House, but this time playing %u201CSecond Fiddle%u201D to the Democrat from Illinois ??? At least she wouldn%u2019t be distracted just because another male gets waylaid in the secret hallways. She%u2019d stay far too busy wondering what%u2018s Bill still up to, with all those trips out on his own !!!! Whatever happens next wouldn%u2019t cost taxpayers another $25 million and a few more years of %u201Cwitch hunts%u201C. (We%u2019ve %u201Cbeen there, done that%u201D !!!)

Do we REALLY need two solid years of political TV commercials repeated ad nauseum, and $ONE BILLION worth of government favoritism for those %u201CSponsors%u201D ????

[harp1963]

Dear Senator McCain, I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and was a teenager when all the boys came home from Vietnam. I am embarrased that you continue to support a war, that first, was completely unprovoked, and secondly, has contributed to extreme unstablity in the Middle East.

I used to think you were very level headed person, but now, if I were you, I would forget about running for President. This country is a democracy RUN BY THE PEOPLE. And the people want our troops brought home and this retarded war ended. You can't force this war on us. We will vote all the war supporters out of office in such large numbers, even trying to "fix" the vote like you master George did in 2004 won't work. All the best

[weneedchange]

For lots of years I%u2019ve admired McCain%u2019s integrity and his willingness to admit his party%u2019s leadership had horrifically screwed up. If Bush hadn%u2019t built such a massive Campaign Fund while totally prostituting himself en route to first being nominated, McCain would have been named and elected. None of this mess would EVER have happened. All those killed and maimed would still be living/doing as hoped when growing up. McCain would probably have found another way to rid Iraq of that despot, even if at the cost of a few fatalities of Special Ops heros. And maybe Bin Laden might also have been found, had we been %u201Cserved%u201D by an administration not so hopelessly incompetent.

But sadly, McCain is now making the biggest WRONG gamble of his life, obviously hoping this latest fiasco of a plan might miraculously work, and thus bring him much support and strength from folks who %u201Cbelatedly%u201D concede he was RIGHT all along. We may WISH it happens !!! NOT LIKELY.

[me4prezz]

Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road,%u201D he said, referring to the standoff between Democrats and Bush over war funding and a timetable. %u201CIt may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election.%u201D

That advantage is the will of the people. It is the will of the people that says that something has to give and that this war is not worth winning. It takes a bigger person to say that they know when to give up and the Democrats are finally saying they know that it is time to give up. We are dying more and more and not much to show for it, except that we traded one dictator for another. What good have we done there?

This war needs to end and the Iraqis will need support in rebuilding, but our continued killing of civilians is making us no better than those who killed us. The ones who flew planes into our buildings are who we should be fighting. Those are the ones we should be hunting down. Not civilians and not radicalists who are using this war as a media frenzy to further their own causes.

Get Bin Laden and get out.