McCain Flip Flops Again: 100 Years In Iraq ‘Would Be Fine With Me,’ Even ‘A Million Years’
McCain Flip Flops Again: 100 Years In Iraq ‘Would Be Fine With Me,’ Even ‘A Million Years’
During a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire last night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told a crowd of roughly two hundred people that it “would be fine with” him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for “a hundred years“:
Q: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years — (cut off by McCain)
McCAIN: Make it a hundred.
Q: Is that … (cut off)
McCAIN: We’ve been in South Korea … we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans …
Q: [tries to say something]
McCAIN: As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. That’s fine with me, I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Queada is training and equipping and recruiting and motivating people every single day.
Watch it:
Asked about the remark later by Mother Jones’ David Corn, McCain reaffirmed it, “excitedly declaring that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for ‘a thousand years’ or ‘a million years,’ as far as he was concerned.”
McCain’s latest comments complete a full flip-flop-flip. He previously said that the Korea model was “exactly” the right idea for Iraq. But in late November, he abandoned it on PBS’ Charlie Rose Show:
ROSE: Do you think that this — Korea, South Korea is an analogy of where Iraq might be, not in terms of their economic success but in terms of an American presence over the next, say, 20, 25 years, that we will have a significant amount of troops there?
MCCAIN: I don’t think so.
ROSE: Even if there are no casualties?
MCCAIN: No. But I can see an American presence for a while. But eventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws.
With presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani embracing the Bush administration, McCain appears to be changing his mind again so he can move closer to Bush on Iraq.
UPDATE: The AP picks up McCain’s comments.
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52 Responses to “McCain Flip Flops Again: 100 Years In Iraq ‘Would Be Fine With Me,’ Even ‘A Million Years’”
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did he skip his med's today? i think so.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:08 amAll his political posturing will do is alienate independents and democrats.
McCain's already circling the bowl.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:12 amTime for this old boy to go fishing, he's out classed and warn out....Blessings
January 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am"As long as Americans are not being injured "
But that is logically contradictory. Americans **ARE** being injured and killed. And let's not even start with the ethics of being an occupying force. (Let's face it, even in S Korea where we are there as "guests" there is a love hate relationship where S Korea loves us as we protect them from a very real threat of N Korea but hate us as the occupying, ugly americans).
Cue Guitars:
Just like Poland is protected by its Russian Friends
January 4th, 2008 at 10:15 amEl Salvadors protected by Americans
and if 50 trillion seems too high a price for El Salvador (and Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, .....)
.....
if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Queada is training and equipping and recruiting and motivating people every single day. - john mcCAVE
he still doesn't get it...
January 4th, 2008 at 10:19 amit is our presence there that draws the "al queada" in training...
"every single day"...
big surprise. remember when McCain went on Meet the Press and said he "wouldn't compromise on torture" right before he compromised on torture?
January 4th, 2008 at 10:20 amhttp://www.tshirtinsurgency.com
Seen as he wants to stay in Iraq, why doesn't he move there?
January 4th, 2008 at 10:20 amMcCain showed us one more time how ignorant he is about Iraq and the Middle East as whole...
Iraqis,even the closest to us, will not be able or allow this to happen...
McCain needs to read the history of Iraq and see how the Shiate,the Sunnis and every Iraqi fought to get England out of Iraq...
The comparison between Iraq,and South Korea is not there....South Korea does not have a conflict like the Arab Israeli conflict..which is the heart of all fightings in the Middle East.
Iraq is mainly a Moslem country compared to South Korea...and any trouble anywhere in the Moslem or Arab World will be felt in the streets in Iraqi cities...
If McCain cannot see this..then he is living in a fantacy world...
He needs to read about Iraq.
In fact the one year extension of US troops presence in Iraq given by the UN...was not approved yet by the Iraq Parliament.
The second and important question...who is going to pay in lives and dollars for another 100 years...?
January 4th, 2008 at 10:25 amHis comments are fine by me. I agree with barfly above, the more the Republicans cozy up to Bush, the easier it will be to beat them.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:26 amTime for another shopping trip in Baghdad John. Pick me up a rug.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:26 amCould our presence in Iraq be the next South Korea & Japan if a Republican President is elected?
http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=1434
.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:26 amCan there be any doubt remaining that McCain is unfit to lead this country? That his tragic imprisonment in Viet Nam altered his mental state such that he wants some form of revenge or recompense?
January 4th, 2008 at 10:27 amMcCAIN: As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed.
-----------------------------
How does McCain propose to go from "Americans being injured or harmed or wounded or killed" (the situation in Iraq now) to "Americans not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed"?
That seems to be the tricky part he's avoiding addressing.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:27 amLook at the map of central and southwest Asia.
A stealth bomber, with a range of 2000 miles (which is NOT a long distance), based in Kirkuk, Kurdish Republic of Iraq--where one of the enormous 'temporary' US bases is close to completion--puts just about the whole trans-caspian/black sea region under USer bomb-sights.
It's a 'temporary' base because the USofA has promised not to station troops/assets there 'permanently.'
Like, compared to Half Dome, the Pentagon is 'temporary.'
Reason 2 of the (arguably) three original purposes for the invasion, conquest, occupation, rape and plunder (ICORP) of Iraq was to establish a node of the USer military empire of bases--as Chalmers Johnson calls them--whence the USer globalist Imperium could "extend influence" over the still-amazingly energy-rich and mainly "undeveloped" trans-Caspian region: The Ultimate Prize in the "Great Game." China, Russia, and India are at the table.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:28 amWill somebody go "all in"?
McCain stained himself beyond recovery when he gave little George a big hug. After the hateful lies and slime that was thrown at him by Bushco, the hug was an overt admission that McCain was a cheap whore.
Don't be surprised if this is his last term as Arizona Senator. We like our whores to be honest.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:29 amWhen you've become irrelevant, you start saying anything to try and regain the spotlight.... no matter how idiotic. Just look at the right wing media for proof
January 4th, 2008 at 10:34 amThere is a difference between having a presence - a small, diplomatically and physically fortified contingent - and having a significant amount of troops as an occupying force.
He's flip-flopped before , but this is a weak example of it.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:37 ammissmolly:
"How does McCain propose to go from “Americans being injured or harmed or wounded or killed†(the situation in Iraq now) to “Americans not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed�"
It's a happy, magical land that these Republicans hail from, a place where everyday is Opposite Day: war is peace, incompetence is expertise and lies are truth.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:38 amHow does McCain propose to go from “Americans being injured or harmed or wounded or killed†(the situation in Iraq now) to “Americans not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed�
That seems to be the tricky part he’s avoiding addressing.
He's laboring under the delusion (shared with the trolls here) that the opposition we face in Iraq is mainly from "Al-Queda terrorists" and Islamic extremism, rather than a mainly nationalist resistance fueled by the occupation in the first place. This disconnect from reality prevents cons from ever proposing an efficacious solution to reducing the violence in Iraq, since they can never admit that we - both by our presence and our divide-and-conquer kingmaking - are the principal cause for the violence. The best they can do, as McCain does, is wish it away.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:41 am100 years in Iraq sounds like a prison sentence... it is!
January 4th, 2008 at 10:44 amJust wondering, how does McCain plan to pay for our 100 year occupation of Iraq?
Just another "fiscally conservative" Republican bankrupting our country. . .
January 4th, 2008 at 10:50 amJust what America needs, another wifty, unserious moron for President. The past 7 years have gone so great.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am"It does not matter whether the war is actually happening, and, since no decisive victory is possible, it does not matter whether the war is going badly. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist."
January 4th, 2008 at 10:56 am- Orwell's 1984
flip flop flipping is a form of hypocrisy...last night on Teebee I saw Maw Cain claim that his pet peeve was hypocrisy.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:00 amJust wondering, how does McCain plan to pay for our 100 year occupation of Iraq?
Comment by dim wit
How are we going to pay for the first five?
∞
January 4th, 2008 at 11:03 amMcCain is the presumptive nominee, which shows what a bunch of losers the GOP has fielded.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:04 amJust to clarify my post - couldn't agree more with the folks saying that Korea is not Iraq. My mention of Korea was to show that even in an area with a well defined border, well defined objective and a populace that wants us there, we're not universally beloved.
As I've held from the beginning of this travesty, the Mideast is the part of the world that gave us the word "Assassin". The region has a documented 3,000 year history of tribal conflicts and severe problems for any power that tried to occupy the land. Roughly 1/2 of that time period includes the Shia / Sunni **AHEM** differences of opinion. Add in the 50 year Arab-Israeli conflict / conflagration and the perception that the US is the supporter of Israel.
The spaghetti winds in and out of itself in baffling ways that defy an easy solution.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:06 amI'm willing to let Republicans stay in Iraq indefinitely if it means their extermination.
Otherwise, we have no legal or moral reason to be there to begin with.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:21 amI'll say it again, McCain is a crazy, war mongering nut. He plays his "hero" status as a POW for all he can get. He reminds me of the old codgers at the VFW and AMVETS who continue to support this administration. Most of these characters are insane.....WAR IS HELL...........
January 4th, 2008 at 11:23 amThat warmongering old fart is just plain senile - and he's forgotten completely who he's talking to - or what he said just yesterday.
Pass the Aricept!!
January 4th, 2008 at 11:23 am"the perception that the US is the supporter of Israel."
uh.. not really a "perception" so much as a hard fact, regardless of how anyone feels about it.
not trying to nitpick, but it's an important detail.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:26 amMcCain has been flipping in the wind for the last 7 years.
He is like Texas weather, if you don't like it, give it a couple hours, it will change.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:31 amSo when does flip-flopping finally translate into being freakin schizoid?
January 4th, 2008 at 11:36 amSo why don't McInsane, Iraq, and his 1000-year losing proposition get a room?
To clarify my last post, let the supporters of this insanity go to Iraq and be the occupiers. Let THEM be the ones to put their asses on the line. None of this "Bring 'em on" from the safety of being stateside while others are actually in the line of fire.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:39 amSo when does flip-flopping finally translate into being freakin schizoid?
So why don’t McInsane, Iraq, and his 1000-year losing proposition get a room?
Comment by OleHippieChick — January 4, 2008 @ 11:36 am
That should have happened back at "Bomb, bomb, Iran".
January 4th, 2008 at 11:39 amThese three, McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani all deserve one another and should be tied inexorable to each other, but just on a different, as yet unexplored planet, in outer space where each of them is anyway!
January 4th, 2008 at 11:47 amFunny you should mention another planet and Mitt in the same sentence. One of the Mormon beliefs is that if a man lives as a good Mormon, always giving his 10% to the Church and living by the Mormon Doctrines, he will become a God and have his own planet to populate and rule over. He gets to start the population with all the women he "sealed" in his life here on Earth.
Pretty cool shit, huh? I can see where this might be a popular religion with the men, but how do they talk women into this crap?
January 4th, 2008 at 11:57 amBecome a Career Soldier - Spend 1/4 of the next 20 years in Iraq under constant threat and separated from your family!
January 4th, 2008 at 11:57 amMcCain reaffirmed it, “excitedly declaring that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for ‘a thousand years’ or ‘a million years,’ as far as he was concerned.â€
-------------------------------------------
And with stop-loss and the backdoor draft, this means our troops will wind up deployed there for life...
January 4th, 2008 at 12:16 pmNot a clue. None.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:38 pmMcCain is an insane Nazi aggressor, just like Bush and Cheney... Sieg Heils all around to USofA 21st century imperialism...
January 4th, 2008 at 12:48 pm37 - nan - reminds me of those 72 virgins; how about you?
January 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pmLeftside Annie,
Sure does. Sexist and just a tad unrealistic. Although you have to admit, given the choice between 72 virgins and a whole damn world to be God to, that would be an easy call. We should thank FSM that Joseph Smith didn't travel to the Middle East. If these clowns would blow themselves up for the promise of 72 virgins, what would they be willing to do for Joey's promises?
January 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pmAnd the corporate whore media are on their collective knees for this guy.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:44 pmAl Qaida wasn't there in effect at all until Bush opened the door to them!
January 4th, 2008 at 1:46 pmDoc Rock, I typed a long winded response in agreement with you but TP took issue with the word SOB and I am too laze to repeat it. In short, Bush is AQ's greatest gift from Allah, the greatest recruiter ever.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:26 pmI can see it now. 1,000,000 A.D. - The Mermen of Zindar (formerly the USA) are still occupying New Babylon's (formerly Iraq) underwater carbon stockpiles so they can't be used by the Islamoborgs (fascists of course) on the 12 Tribes of Klepton. It's a generational struggle, people!
January 4th, 2008 at 3:49 pm47 - nan - rAmen!
January 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pmnan - reminds me of those 72 virgins; how about you?
Comment by Leftside Annie — January 4, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
Except that in Islam, the 72 virgins aren't just for the men. Women entering heaven are also entitled to 72 gorgeous hunks of beefcake.
OR you can choose to spend eternity with your spouse (that is, if your spouse also chooses you). If you make this choice, God will transform your spouse into the most handsome and beautiful creature imaginable.
Of course, nothing in the Quran says this. This story comes from the Hadith -- quotes and sayings from Muhammed that were gathered after his death. Still -- some Muslims take this to heart and believe that dying a martyr will get them babes.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:14 pmDamn missmolly! Busted again!
I guess my supposition that the 72 virgins thing was sexist was in itself sexist.
And I try so hard, I really do.
January 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pmSounds like Hadassah has been passing around the crazy pills. First to her husband and now to old man McCain.
Drug test our "leaders" already!
January 5th, 2008 at 3:09 amSure, if he became President, he probably introduced the 1000 Year Reich, too ;-/
February 15th, 2008 at 6:50 am