February 11, 2009 4:15 PM
- Text
McCain Vows To Find Bin Laden
(CBS/AP)
On the sixth anniversary or the 9/11 attacks, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain vowed to capture Osama bin Laden if he became president.
"He is a symbol, a force, for evil. He recruits. He motivates. He must be brought to justice. I, as president of the United States, will get him," McCain said on CBS News' The Early Show on Tuesday.
When asked to explain how he would do that, the Arizona senator said, "There's lots of ways and I'm confident that I will."
"We cannot allow him to evade justice because of everything that he's done and everything he still effectively does," he added.
In the interview, the Arizona senator also responded to the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress on Monday.
Petraeus said last winter's buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives in large measure. Petraeus also told Congress he envisions the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next summer.
"I think that General Petraeus would not be recommending these reductions, as modest as they may be, unless he thought we were succeeding," McCain told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm.
While campaigning on Monday, McCain also said he supports Petraeus' recommendation.
"I don't think there is any doubt that it's good news that he feels we will be able to withdraw some troops," he told reporters in Norfolk as he prepared to fly to Washington, D.C., after campaigning in southeast Virginia.
"There's no doubt in my mind that the alternative to this strategy is catastrophe and genocide," McCain said on The Early Show.
Petraeus also said the Iraqi military slowly is gaining competence and taking on more responsibility for security. He cited Anbar province as an example of Iraqis turning against terrorists, adding that officials are seeing similar actions in other locations as well.
McCain said at a campaign stop over the weekend that failure in Iraq eventually would pull America into a wider and more difficult war in the volatile region.
"The consequences would threaten us for years," he told a Republican audience in California. McCain later told reporters, "If we set a date for withdrawal, that's a date for surrender."
Commenting earlier Monday on criticism of Petraeus, McCain said, "There's a lot of people who are armchair generals who reside here in the air-conditioned comfort of Capitol Hill."
While in Virginia, McCain attended a private fundraiser in Norfolk, then met with officers and enlisted men and women at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. He said he has great affection for Oceana because his first squadron in the Navy after he finished pilot training was at the base.
McCain said he also briefly attended a high school football game; his grandson is a wide receiver at a private school in Norfolk. McCain had to leave shortly after the game started.
"He is a symbol, a force, for evil. He recruits. He motivates. He must be brought to justice. I, as president of the United States, will get him," McCain said on CBS News' The Early Show on Tuesday.
When asked to explain how he would do that, the Arizona senator said, "There's lots of ways and I'm confident that I will."
"We cannot allow him to evade justice because of everything that he's done and everything he still effectively does," he added.
In the interview, the Arizona senator also responded to the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker before Congress on Monday.
Petraeus said last winter's buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives in large measure. Petraeus also told Congress he envisions the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next summer.
"I think that General Petraeus would not be recommending these reductions, as modest as they may be, unless he thought we were succeeding," McCain told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm.
While campaigning on Monday, McCain also said he supports Petraeus' recommendation.
"I don't think there is any doubt that it's good news that he feels we will be able to withdraw some troops," he told reporters in Norfolk as he prepared to fly to Washington, D.C., after campaigning in southeast Virginia.
"There's no doubt in my mind that the alternative to this strategy is catastrophe and genocide," McCain said on The Early Show.
Petraeus also said the Iraqi military slowly is gaining competence and taking on more responsibility for security. He cited Anbar province as an example of Iraqis turning against terrorists, adding that officials are seeing similar actions in other locations as well.
McCain said at a campaign stop over the weekend that failure in Iraq eventually would pull America into a wider and more difficult war in the volatile region.
"The consequences would threaten us for years," he told a Republican audience in California. McCain later told reporters, "If we set a date for withdrawal, that's a date for surrender."
Commenting earlier Monday on criticism of Petraeus, McCain said, "There's a lot of people who are armchair generals who reside here in the air-conditioned comfort of Capitol Hill."
While in Virginia, McCain attended a private fundraiser in Norfolk, then met with officers and enlisted men and women at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. He said he has great affection for Oceana because his first squadron in the Navy after he finished pilot training was at the base.
McCain said he also briefly attended a high school football game; his grandson is a wide receiver at a private school in Norfolk. McCain had to leave shortly after the game started.
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