McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and the War in Iraq
March 26, 2008
On the campaign trial John McCain presents himself as a foreign policy expert who understands the war in Iraq better than his opponents, a case he'll likely make today during a speech that will no doubt serve as clean-up for misstatements he made recently about Iraq. But the reality is, McCain has chosen to ignore key issues on the ground and still hasn't offered a plan for Iraq going forward.
In fact, McCain says he trusts General Petraeus but has yet to take a position on key issues Petraeus has raised in recent weeks. As reported in the Washington Post, Petraeus said that "no one" believes "there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation," but McCain has yet to say if he agrees. Similarly, General Petraeus recommended to President Bush Monday a pause in the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, but McCain has not weighed in publicly on the issue despite having met with the General during his tax-payer funded trip to Iraq last week. Along with his silence on these issues, McCain has proposed no plan going forward in Iraq or outlined what must happen to bring our troops home, simply saying that we could be in Iraq for 100 years. At the same time, he has not said how he'll pay for a never-ending war that is now costing American taxpayers $12 billion a month. [Washington Post, 3/14/08, New York Times, 3/25/08; McCain Derry, NH townhall meeting, 1/3/08; motherjones.com, 1/3/08; AP, 3/10/08]
With McCain, it's all questions and no answers on Iraq. And for a so-called foreign policy expert, it sure doesn't sound like he has a grasp of the issues.
2008: McCain Would Spend 'a Hundred Years' or a 'Million Years' in Iraq. McCain interrupted a voter during a townhall meeting in New Hampshire telling him we could spend "maybe a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be fine with me." After the townhall meeting, he told a reporter "that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for 'a thousand years' or 'a million years,' as far as he was concerned." [McCain Derry, NH townhall meeting, 1/3/08; motherjones.com , 1/3/08]
After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.
