McCain hits Obama on Iraq, brags on Russia
John McCain declared this morning that he was right -- and Democrat Barack Obama was wrong -- about the right strategy in Iraq, and that he was ahead of the curve on Russia's incursion into Georgia as well.
Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Fla., McCain renewed his attack on Obama for opposing the troop surge last year in Iraq -- and boasted that he acted with political courage.
"With less than three months to go before the election, a lot of people are still trying to square Senator Obama's varying positions on the surge in Iraq. First, he opposed the surge and confidently predicted that it would fail. Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge. Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure. This was back when supporting America's efforts in Iraq entailed serious political risk. It was a clarifying moment. It was a moment when political self-interest and the national interest parted ways. For my part, with so much in the balance, my friends, it was an easy call. As I said at the time, I would rather lose an election than lose a war," McCain said.
"Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines and to brave Iraqi fighters the surge has succeeded," he added. "And yet Senator Obama still cannot quite bring himself to admit his own failure in judgment. Nor has he been willing to heed the guidance of General Petraeus, or to listen to our troops on the ground when they say -- as they have said to me on my trips to Iraq: 'Let us win, just let us win.' Instead, Senator Obama commits the greater error of insisting that even in hindsight, he would oppose the surge. Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory. In short, both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference -- the great difference -- is that I intend to win it first."
Obama is scheduled to address the VFW gathering on Tuesday.
On Russia, McCain said he showed the judgment needed in the next president by warning about Russia's expansionist ambitions.
"It's been a while since most Americans -- including most of our leaders and diplomats -- have viewed Russia as a threat to the peace. But the Russian government's assault on a small democratic neighbor shows why this needs revising. As I have long warned, Russia under the rule of Vladimir Putin is becoming more aggressive toward the now democratic nations that broke free of the old Soviet empire," he said.
McCain then continued his hard line against Russia, warning of consequences if it does not pull back and vowing US support for former Soviet republics' move toward democracy.
"There are reports now of Georgian villages being razed, civilians being rounded up, and innocent civilians shot. We have seen such things before, as in the Balkans and in earlier periods of European history, and now we must ensure that events in Georgia do not unfold into a tragedy of greater scale. When young democracies are threatened or attacked, and innocent civilians are targeted, they should be able to count on the free world for support and solidarity," he said.
"If I am elected president, they will have that support," McCain vowed. "And in cooperation with our friends and allies in Europe, we will make it clear to Russia's rulers that acts of violence and intimidation come at a heavy cost. There will be no place among G-8 nations, or in the WTO, for a modern Russia that acts at times like the old Soviet Union. The Cold War is over, the Soviet empire is gone, and neither one is missed. Least of all is that empire missed by the once captive nations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia. These brave young democracies have joined the free world, and they are not going back."
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This man is hell-bent on getting us into another war! Please, America, look at this guy.....he is definitely scary! We don't need more brow-beating and threatening of other nations........our place in the world has been so damaged already!
As Clinton, Biden, Dodd, et al. tried to point out, Obama's statements against the war as a state legislator was a riskless pander to local constituents...just like nobody ever called the local politicians of the 80's on their support for nuclear disarmament when the Cold War ultimately went well, Obama could have known that nobody would have ever called him on is opposition had the war gone well, but made him look brave and prescient when the war went badly.
McCain, however, at the critical junction was making a judgment call that really did have the potential to do him political damage. McCain was no wronger than Clinton on starting the war, and was righter than all of them on ending it.
u still listen to a man in JM,who still thinks theres a czech republic,who had to have JOE L. correct him in knowing about shite's and shunni's,who didn't speak on the invasion georgia did that is now getting a response from russia,who's clock is still stuck in the 80's,and u want him to lead this country???
Lead us into war??
U conservatives are truly funny people..
McCain hasn't got a clue as to how to run this country..
With all the touted experience he and Hillary claim to have,the ones with the experience are the ones who got us into this mess we are now in people!!!
On Iran: S.J.RES.23 : A joint resolution clarifying that the use of force against Iran is not authorized by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, any resolution previously adopted, or any other provision of law.
On votingPassed out of Committee and now on the Senate Calendar for Feb. 22, 2008
S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections Please check this out! This is a great bill. We need this. I can't believe that this time voter intimidation is not already illegal.
On veterans and military personnel: S.1084 : A bill to provide housing assistance for very low-income veterans;
On global warmingS.1324 : A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuel sold in the United States;S.1389 : A bill to authorize the National Science Foundation to establish a Climate Change Education Program; S.AMDT.599 to S.CON.RES.21 To add $200 million for Function 270 (Energy) for the demonstration and monitoring of carbon capture and sequestration technology by the Department of Energy. (This last one passed both the House and the Senate as part of the budget bill.)
On campaign finance and lobbyists S.2030 : A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require reporting relating to bundled contributions made by persons other than registered lobbyists; and S.AMDT.41 to S.1 To require lobbyists to disclose the candidates, leadership PACs, or political parties for whom they collect or arrange contributions, and the aggregate amount of the contributions collected or arranged.
On Blackwater S.2044 : A bill to provide procedures for the proper classification of employees and independent contractors, and for other purposes, and S.2147 : A bill to require accountability for contractors and contract personnel under Federal contracts, and for other purposes.
On global poverty S.2433 : A bill to require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
On global nuclear proliferation S.1977 : A bill to provide for sustained United States leadership in a cooperative global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global nuclear arsenals, stop the spread of nuclear weapons and related material and technology, and support the responsible and peaceful use of nuclear technology.
McCain is right on !! Anyone who doesn't support him is clueless and uneducated..... PERIOD !!!!
McCain was not ahead of the curve on Russia, he was one of the causes. One of his chief strategists is a lobbyist for Georgia. His strategy is the same as the Bush strategy. After the fall of the USSR the US promised to not move NATO past Germany. Bush/McCain reneged on the US promise and now wants to put missiles into Russia's back yard. How would the US respond if Russia moved missiles into its backyard? Remember the Cuban missile crisis! Unfortunately, this view will be lost on most media outlets in the US who continue to push their anti-Russian agenda.
McCain Supporter!!! I am a well educated Obama supporter. I am not clueless.....in fact, I think anyone who supports McCain, who turned in his "maverick" image to win an election, is clueless and uneducated! PERIOD!!!!
So we spent a trillion dollars, lost 4,000 lives, suffered over 30,000 needless casualties, killed in excess of 100,000 Iraqi civilians, in order first to attract some al queda forces to Iraq, then kill several thousand of them, and then send them off to Afghanistan.
Baghdad has been almost totally destroyed. 150,000 American troops are needed to keep the peace at a cost of over two billion dollars a week with no end in sight, and you say we would do it again?
I fought in the Viet-Nam war and heard the same type of rhetoric from Robert McNamara, General Westmoreland and LBJ.
John McCain was promoting the invasion of Iraq as far back as 1994. I believe it was because of oil and keeping the supply in the hands of our OPEC partners- and not because of any threat to the United States from Iraq.
No matter how you spin it, this war will go down in history as a horrible mistake.
Hey MB!
Whether you like it or not...you're one of the good guys (That's assuming you're a U.S. citizen). The U.S. is only damaged in your own misguided mind. We are the strongest country to ever exist in the history of the world. Who gives more in aid to international natural disasters than any other country? Nobody but us! Why do you feel so guilty about being a part of that? My guess is that you are a "taker", not a "giver", when it comes to contributing to our success. I'm not going to even get started when it comes to the the dangers our world faces geopolitically. I will say this though, you people try to put the U.S. in the same bracket as of countries that do not have the moral authority we have...we are the good guys!
Hey "perspective"...the Cuban missile crises was about offensive systems not defensive. Do you feel guilty that we have ICBM intercept missile and they do not?
Get a grip..We're the good guys...!!!
Love your country...You can do it if you try.
Hey MB!
Whether you like it or not...you're one of the good guys (That's assuming you're a U.S. citizen). The U.S. is only damaged in your own misguided mind. We are the strongest country to ever exist in the history of the world. Who gives more in aid to international natural disasters than any other country? Nobody but us! Why do you feel so guilty about being a part of that? My guess is that you are a "taker", not a "giver", when it comes to contributing to our success. I'm not going to even get started when it comes to the the dangers our world faces geopolitically. I will say this though, you people try to put the U.S. in the same bracket as of countries that do not have the moral authority we have...we are the good guys!
Hey "perspective"...the Cuban missile crises was about offensive systems not defensive. Do you feel guilty that we have ICBM intercept missile and they do not?
Get a grip..We're the good guys...!!!
Love your country...You can do it if you try.