Clinton, McCain assess Iraq war in VFW talks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- New military tactics in Iraq are working but the best way to honor US soldiers is "by beginning to bring them home," Senator Hillary Clinton told war veterans yesterday.

Clinton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, praised the work that soldiers have done in Iraq but described the government there as "on vacation," leaving American troops in the middle of a sectarian war.

Later the same gathering of Veterans of Foreign Wars was told by Senator John McCain, who is seeking the GOP nomination, that withdrawing from Iraq would be a historic mistake -- far worse than previous US missteps in the country.

McCain said he understands that Americans are "sick and tired" of the war, which he said hasn't gone well. Still, he said General David Petraeus and other military leaders deserve patience.

Petraeus, the US commander who will report to Congress on progress in Iraq next month, told the group that in some areas, partnerships between coalition forces and Iraqi soldiers are "quite robust." Petraeus also said that Iraqi losses have been three times those suffered by the US-led coalition.

Clinton and McCain spoke to hundreds of members of the VFW, which is holding its annual convention in Kansas City. Today, Democratic candidate Barack Obama and GOP former senator Fred Thompson are to speak. President Bush arrives tomorrow.

The hall where the candidates spoke can seat 6,000 people, and both Clinton and McCain drew about half that for their late-morning speeches. The crowd was mostly friendly to Clinton and offered polite applause throughout her speech.

McCain, who served in Vietnam and was a prisoner of war, received a warmer reception -- and louder applause during his remarks.

He said that pulling out of Iraq would empower Al Qaeda and Iran and unleash a "full-scale civil war" in Iraq.

Clinton said she wanted to restore America's image abroad. "People have to root for America," the New York senator said. "They have to want to be on our side."

In Iraq, she said, the government must take responsibility for itself and its people.

"I do not think the Iraqis are ready to do what they have to do for themselves yet," she said. "I think it is unacceptable for our troops to be caught in the crossfire of a sectarian civil war while the Iraqi government is on vacation."