McCain: Dems Making Empty Promises On Iraq

Presumptive GOP Nominee Says Obama's, Clinton's Plans Indicate "Failure Of Leadership"

(CBS/AP)  Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday that calls from his Democratic rivals to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq stand as a "failure of leadership" as they are making promises they cannot keep.

Democrat Barack Obama said the failure rests with McCain's support for an open-ended occupation of Iraq.

Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars, McCain criticized Obama and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and insisted that last year's U.S. troop buildup in Iraq brought a glimmer of "something approaching normal" there, despite a recent outbreak of heavy fighting and a U.S. death toll that has surpassed 4,000.

"I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected," McCain told the crowd.

"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," he said. "It is a failure of leadership."

McCain, the presidential nominee-in-waiting, is closely tied to the unpopular, 5-year-old war. McCain was a vocal advocate of the troop increase strategy eventually adopted by President Bush, and is seeking to convince people the strategy is working. He also argued that Iraq will need more money and aid for reconstruction.

Clinton and Obama, still battling for the Democratic presidential nomination, dispute the claims of success, arguing the war has failed to make the United States safer. On Monday, Obama used McCain's own words against him.

"It's a failure of leadership to support an open-ended occupation of Iraq that has failed to press Iraq's leaders to reconcile, badly overstretched our military, put a strain on our military families, set back our ability to lead the world, and made the American people less safe," Obama said.

Debate will intensify this week as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker testify to Congress. Clouding their testimony is fighting that erupted late last month as U.S.-trained Iraqi forces attempted to oust Shiite militias from Basra in southern Iraq.

CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs notes that McCain is in part trying to set the parameters of the debate this week on Iraq.

“Iraq will be a centerpiece of the presidential campaign this week and McCain is laying the groundwork for his argument,” Ververs said. “As a primary supporter of the surge strategy, McCain will probably benefit or be harmed depending on how Americans perceive the situation on the ground. But he has to bet that enough questions can be raised about the aftermath of any timed withdrawal to make voters think twice about that option.”

For his part, McCain suggested the Democrats' promise to withdraw troops was motivated by ambition rather than honesty.

People deserve a candid assessment of progress in Iraq as well as of the serious difficulties that remain and of the consequences of hasty withdrawal, McCain said.

McCain warned against the swift withdrawal of troops advocated by Obama and Clinton, saying Iraq could quickly become a terrorist haven.

"These likely consequences of America's failure in Iraq would, almost certainly, require us to return to Iraq or draw us into a wider and far costlier war," the Arizona senator said.

He highlighted a sharp drop in violence in recent months in his speech to the VFW at the National World War I Museum. From June 2007 until last month, when McCain visited Iraq, violence, he said, fell by 90 percent, and deaths of civilians and coalition forces fell by 70 percent.

"The dramatic reduction in violence has opened the way for a return to something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi," McCain said.

Despite the positive numbers he cited, 2007 - the year of the troop buildup - was the deadliest yet.

McCain insisted he could rally support from the majority of Americans - even though, according to public opinion surveys, they believe the war is going badly and the troop buildup has not helped.

"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," McCain said.

[tonyd_31]

Where are the nutty "neo-cons"? I don''t see many of them here supporting "Ol McCain" (well Blackwater66 if you count the mentally impaired). One thing I will say in defense of the old guy, is he knows the consequences of war but that is the only credit he gets. It is a good thing that the GOP is on the way out the door. This guy will say and do anything to get a vote. Did you hear his excuse for voting against MLK holiday? Anything for a vote.

[tonyd_31]

McCain is the same knucklehead who last year seemed so out of touch with reality as he stood there in a body armor vest in a Baghdad Market place talking about how safe it was. The whole time he was guarded by an Armor Battalion. Get our boys home now! I would not elect McCain as the city''s dog catcher! What is wrong with these morons?

[armydog2]

abbe
Mccain keeps stumbling over his words about what is going on in Iraq. His age is definitely catching up with him. Don''t want him answering that phone at 3 am.

[armydog2]

That''s right mudrose these men and women did volunteer for the military after 9/11 to defend our country against the people who were behind that horrific act. Bin laden you do remember him. They did not volunteer for a war based on greed and LIES!!!!!!!!I know that for a fact because my son is one of these fine, brave, honorable men who volunteered to serve his country against the man who so viciously attacked us on that day. He is in Iraq doing a second tour of duty there and the only reason he went back was to be there for his fellow Soldiers and only because of them. Try talking to a REAL Soldier and stop listening to the neocon rhetoric. They just might open your eyes.

[mudrose-2009]

Amen, vmc. What make me mad is the people that are willing to sacrifice more and more brave young men and women over in that sewer, just so they don''''t have to admit that Bush is an idiot and was wrong, wrong, wrong, about the whole thing. He accomplished nothing and made a huge mess.
Posted by kansas1946

These troops of our volunteered for duty after 9/11. They saw a need to Defend their Country and did so. They are not victims although victimization and poverty are great pimping stories here in this wasteland of unrelenting poverty and desolation where everybody is on bread lines and living in shanties. You vision is distorted and demeaning. We are safer because the Iraqi people put Sadaam where he belonged - in Hell and we''ll be much safer when we can get the world community to tell Iran with it''s 6,000 new centifruges to stand down. Since this country now belongs to the pimps, liars, governmental lackeys and political hos, who worry more about themselves than their country, it will be very telling when over the course of the next 8 years exactly how Iran will play out on the world theatre. But you keep living in your fantasy world that all will be well if we just have tea and sympathy for the enemy.

[abbe91]

McCain is really the expert about the Middle East ...

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/08/869803.aspx

[swwils]

Closing Military bases will not help our nations economy.We need a Pres.with enough balls to say no to pork barrel spending,no to stupid projects that don''t have a purpose.Tell congress do some work besides worrying if baseball players used human growth hormones.We must keep a strong military or we loose the only leverage we have anymore.

[obama8years]

OBAMA LINK TO HAMAS...

If Barack Obama didn%u2019t know about Abunimah%u2019s writings (and Abunimah says he did), the same as his claims of being unaware of Reverend Wright%u2019s remarks after 20 years, then Obama is not competent to be our President. Abunimah likes to lie and claim Al Awda has nothing to do with the ISM or Electronic Intifada, though plenty of evidence exists on the website the homepage at www.StoptheISM.com showing the contrary.

But Obama%u2019s association with the ISM through his church and lobbying in Chicago goes even deeper than just his past links to Al Awda and Ali Abunimah. His pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, are both equally involved with the ISM.




http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2462

[kansas1946]

jack3213..Over 4,000 Americans dead, thousands more disabled and billions of wasted tax dollars, I think this Iraq occupation more than "sucks"

Anyone who thinks this cluster fu*ck can be won with more money and more troops is living in a fantasy world.


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Posted by vmcneal2 at 08:23 AM : Apr 08, 2008
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Amen, vmc. What make me mad is the people that are willing to sacrifice more and more brave young men and women over in that sewer, just so they don''t have to admit that Bush is an idiot and was wrong, wrong, wrong, about the whole thing. He accomplished nothing and made a huge mess.

[kansas1946]

McCain: Dems Making Empty Promises On Iraq
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Well, let''s see. Since last year, Mr. McCain has been telling us how much improvement there is, that you can stroll in the market place safely, that things are getting bakc to normal, etc., and that we could be in Iraq for 100 years.

Obama is telling us we need to get out, the sooner the better because we are not helping, we are hurting. I think I will go with the "empty" promist, thanks.