McCain: Iraq Bombs Needn't Slow Withdrawal

(CBS)  Senator John McCain said today the United States should not delay withdrawing American troops from Iraq, even in light of this morning's twin car bomb blasts which killed 136 and wounded scores more and his own prediction that such violence will continue.

Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, the Arizona Republican said the attacks - the worst in Iraq in months - are indicative that improving the situation there is a slow process and a "terrible tragedy."

He blamed extremists trying to ignite sectarian violence, but said that while such attacks continue, "they are not sustainable.

"The majority of the people are opposed to them. And the Iraqi military will be able to handle this transition. But it's not going to be without tragedies such as we've seen just today," he added.

On Afghanistan, host Bob Schieffer asked if McCain agreed with his colleague, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who on the program last week said President Obama should wait until the presidential election there is decided before giving an answer on whether an additional 40,000 U.S. troops will be dedicated to the effort.

No, McCain said. "We are not operating in a vacuum now.

"The sooner the decision is made, the sooner we get people over there and are able to implement the strategy that will succeed."

He admitted that the government of President Hamid Karzai - should he win re-election in the runoff - has to be more accountable in eliminating corruption. But McCain argued that a troop increase should not wait until the political situation there is resolved.

"I think [President Obama] will make the right decision. I want to support that decision," McCain said. "I also just want to briefly add, there's a lot of other areas, now that we are moving forward, when we move forward, for the proper security environment. There's governance. There's some problems within our own civilian side as to how we are going to be partners in implementing this strategy. And a lot of other issues that need to be addressed as well. But without security, none of the other aspects of a winning strategy can succeed."

Schieffer asked if Senator McCain could support a possible move to a hybrid strategy in Afghanistan, incorporating some elements of the counterterrorism strategy Vice President Joe Biden supports and General Stanley McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy.

"It may be a matter of semantics," McCain said. "I don't know how you make them hybrid. There are elements of counterterrorism in counterinsurgency, but fundamentally, counterinsurgency will require the implementation of the strategy that General McChrystal has recommended, in my view.

"And the counterterrorism strategy - killing people and then returning to base - has been proven to be a very disastrous strategy in Iraq and in other places."

[antoniof123]

Thank you from the party of NO.

NO answers, NO solutions, NO NOTHING.

Keep John you had your time and you through it away now go sit in the cornor.

[BeckieBest]

McCain disqualified himself from being taken seriously when he became a Bush chear leader and when he picked Palin as his running mate.

[thesevenveils]

McCain is a ghost. All he does is moan and whine. Even children stopped listening to him.
He lost ALL credibility as a smart or wise person when he accepted Sarah Palin as a running mate. He was once an iconic senator until he committed poltical and credibility suicide by his association with Palin . Now he is nothing more than embarrassing collateral damage in Sarah's blitzkrieg to a higher political office.

[briannorwood]

Hey McCain. If I wanted your opinion about what the President should or should not do, I would have voted for you instead of Obama.

Take a seat!

[stn_sage]

The more I listen to McCain, the more I wonder WHAT kind of medications HE IS ON?!

Until this interview, and especially over the past seven years, he has adamantly supported MORE troops into Iraq and/or Afghanistan!!

Now, all of a sudden, HE'S talking about WITHDRAWING troops?! It appears he KNOWS we're in 'wind down' mode, and wants to be on the 'winning team' when it happens...and doesn't want to miss the 'bandwagon'!

What a guy! How many U.S. troops have needlessly been KIA and wounded, while this opportunist 'beat the drums of war' in the Senate this past
seven years? NOW, he's acknowledging reality?!

His actions just show how he and the GOP have been and ARE totally irresponsible in handling the business of the nation!

[wyzguy11]

Now that Senator McCain is not in "campaign" mode he can take the right position on Iraq. It's too bad that the Senator can't "stick" to his Presidential concession speech and work with President Obama in a "bi-partisan" effort on our "domestic" issues that are very much still facing many Americans.

[hungry1968-16]

"The sooner the decision is made, the sooner we get people over there and are able to implement the strategy that will succeed."






Why do you wait until Obama is president, before you call for a "troop surge" and a new and improved strategy?

Where the hell were you for the last 8 years?!?!

[myopinionpal]

stuart-johns2 ........You ask,Why we ever went to Iraq this is your answer: We went to settle a grudge match that started with Saddam Hussein trying to kill the first President Bush. It wasn't about weapons of mass destruction.Alot of americans have died fighting a war that was chumped up to get us in it with no way out of it.

[BeckieBest]

Two big things diqualify McCain from participating in a serious discussion on this or any other topic.

He supported Bush and his disasterous policies and he nominated Palin as his running mate.

McCain's judgement is terrible.

[BeckieBest]

Neocons have no credibility in military strategy, foreign policy, or anything really.

They spent 8 years digging us into the hole that Obama is trying to get us out of.

[BeckieBest]

After 8 years of starting wars and occupations without a real mission, real planning, or even an exit strategy, it's nice to have a real leader who thinks carefully before comitting our troops and our tax dollars.