McCain Removes Calls For More U.S. Troops In Iraq From Website
McCain Removes Calls For More U.S. Troops In Iraq From Website
On Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) altered his campaign website to deemphasize his repeated calls for sending more troops to Iraq. The old version of McCain’s Iraq page argued that an increase of troops was a “crucial prerequisite for needed economic and political development in the country”:
A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq. John McCain agrees with retired Army General Jack Keane that there are simply not enough American forces in Iraq. More troops are necessary to clear and hold insurgent strongholds; to provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies; to halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm Sunni and Shiite militias; to dismantle al Qaeda; to train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units. Accomplishing each of these goals will require more troops and is a crucial prerequisite for needed economic and political development in the country.
On his new site, McCain deletes any reference to increasing troop levels and abandons the argument that a troop build up is “a crucial prerequisite” for progress. Instead, McCain focuses on the consequences of pulling out of Iraq:
John McCain believes it is strategically and morally essential for the United States to support the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people. He strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before that has occurred.
Over at the Wonk Room, Adam Jentleson raises two questions about McCain’s change of heart:
First, does John McCain still think we need more troops in Iraq, as his website stated until earlier this week?
Second, since John McCain currently supports President Bush’s policy of arming certain Shiite and Sunni militias, has he changed his view that disarming Shi’ite and Sunni militias is a “critical prerequisite” for success, as his website stated as recently as Tuesday?
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So is McSame against the war or for the war? I get so confused. Does he even know?
May 27th, 2008 at 4:13 pmANOTHER “change of heart”…?
Heh. Seems that the Straight Talk Express is driving in circles.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:20 pmI feel sorry for McFlippetyflop’s webmaster. He truly has a tough job keeping up with all these changes.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:20 pmSomebody get the Guinness Book of World Records on the line … I’m sure that this guy McSame has a new record for flip-flops. I think he just surpassed some dude named McCain. And, tell that Kerry fella he’s so far down the list he’s fallen off the charts by comparison now. ;-)
May 27th, 2008 at 4:21 pmRemember, Folks, every one of McCain’s arguments about what to do next in Iraq is based on the premise that the invasion and change of leadership was the right thing to do in the first place. Until he understands how totally wrong that decision was (in every respect), he will never do the right thing in Iraq for the right reasons (assuming he ever does the right thing at all.)
May 27th, 2008 at 4:26 pmBarack Obama is getting called out again for his knowledge of history, including his own family’s, after declaring to veterans on Memorial Day that his uncle helped liberate the Auschwitz death camp at the end of World War II.
Two problems with the tale: Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army, and Obama’s American mother was an only child.
Speaking in Las Cruces, N.M., on Monday, the Democratic presidential candidate said he did not serve, but comes from a family that did sacrifice for the nation. He was speaking about the many members of the military who suffer post traumatic stress disorder and should be given better care.
“I had a uncle who was one of the, who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz and liberate the concentration camps and the story in our family is that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn’t leave the house for six months, right. Now obviously something had really affected him deeply but at that time there just weren’t the kinds of facilities to help somebody work through that kind of pain,” he said.
However, a quick check on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Web site shows that Soviet forces were the first to approach Auschwitz, which was in Poland.
“On Jan. 27, 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz and liberated more than 7,000 remaining prisoners,” the site reads.
U.S. forces did liberate several camps, including Ohrdruf Concentration Camp on April 4, 1945; Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp on April 11, 1945; Buchenwald on April 12, 1945; Dachau on April 29, 1945; and Mauthausen on May 5, 1945.
Obama was raised in part by his grandparents, and his father served in the second World War.
A request for clarification has been made to the Obama campaign. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee seized on the comments.
“Barack Obama’s dubious claim is inconsistent with world history and demands an explanation. It was Soviet troops that liberated Auschwitz, so unless his uncle was serving in the Red Army, there’s no way Obama’s statement yesterday can be true. Obama’s frequent exaggerations and outright distortions raise questions about his judgment and his readiness to lead as commander in chief,” said RNC Press Secretary Alex Conant.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:28 pmI never knew that being a maverick meant flip-flopping at will…
May 27th, 2008 at 4:29 pmDoesn’t want a photo op with the president and now is changing his position about Iraq. Sounds like he has actually read a couple opinion polls to find out how badly he is doing with his current agenda.
He is as bad as Cheney, tell them what they want to hear and don’t keep a single promise. What can we expect next, McCain to become a champion of the Polar Bears?? Please…
May 27th, 2008 at 4:30 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
Right on the mark.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:33 pmEverything to do with the “war” stinks. From how 9/11 was handled, the deliberate lies, killing habeus corpus, posse comatatis, torturing, to this flip-flopping, lobby controlled, weasel of a near senile fat cat Senator (MCCain).
What does McInsane’s world view have in common with reality? Nothing. He was for troop buildup before he was against it! The naked hypocrisy of the Republican party is un-be-Lievable! Remembering John Kerry’s ‘flip-flop’ abuse, then comparing it with the treatment McLooney’s getting is driving me to new levels of disbelief and astonishment!
May 27th, 2008 at 4:33 pmImpeach Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
Abu Ben Hussein Leporello.
In answer to Adam Jentleson’s questions:
As someone who crashed 5 planes and experienced 20 hours of combat air-time before enduring a Gtimo’s-worth of captivity that collectively makes me more qualified on warfare than Churchill, Eisenhower, Rommel, Zhukov, Tsun-Zu and Xenophon combined, let me just answer your questions with some straight-talk by by saying yes and no, not necessarily in that order, which is an answer I will stand by unless I misspoke or am about to me taken out of context in which case, my friends, I’ll tell you what I really said days afterwards once you, my friends, and I, have completely forgotten what I said in the first place–except to say who wants another hanburger?
May 27th, 2008 at 4:34 pmHe has just drawn down the troop build-up on his website since the surge worked so well.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:35 pmThis, of course, is the same argument that was used during the Vietnam conflict, the the U.S. could not leave Vietnam until the South Vietnamese army was able to fight on its own. McCain should realize that Vietnamization did not work but yet he continues to use that same illogical rationale in regards to Iraq. He seems to be trying to make up for the fact that the U.S. did not “win” in Vietnam by advocating that the U.S. stay in Iraq until the Iraqi army is somehow able to fight on its own. It does not seem to matter to him how much blood and treasure will be wasted in trying to achieve this less than noble cause.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:35 pmJT: Strawman much?
May 27th, 2008 at 4:36 pm“I had a uncle who was one of the, who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz
Terrible reading comprehension JT.
He didn’t say the American’s where there first, but that his uncle was part of the first American troops there.
Got idiocracy?
May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pmlove that pic of McCain – looks like a patient waring a restraint jacket.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pmAnnie,
May 27th, 2008 at 4:44 pmJT is as on topic as much as McCain is sane.
had enough Says:
love that pic of McCain – looks like a patient waring a restraint jacket.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Super Adult Diapers.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:48 pmDieNowForPeace Says:
Got idiocracy?
Now, you did it. You hit his argument with fact.
That makes trolls cry. Then they forget their meds.
heh
May 27th, 2008 at 4:49 pmDon’t give JT too much stick; he’s just reading from Troll Department-issued talking points, so it’s not really his fault.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:54 pmI’ve never understood why anyone would wear a flack jacket without a helmet, unless you believe you’d make a fine looking headless corpse…
May 27th, 2008 at 4:58 pmGeorge Bush has never been seriously called-out for his knowledge of history (and geography) as a qualifier for his fitness to be President:
“That’s a chapter, the last chapter of the 20th, 20th, the 21st century that most of us would rather forget. The last chapter of the 20th century. This is the first chapter of the 21st century. ” –George W. Bush, on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000
“My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific.” —George W. Bush, who apparently forgot about a little something called World War II, Tokyo, Feb. 18, 2002
“This very week in 1989, there were protests in East Berlin and in Leipzig. By the end of that year, every communist dictatorship in Central America had collapsed.” —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2003
“America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness, and for the unalienalienable right of life.” —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 2003
“I have a record in office, as well. And all Americans have seen that record. September the 4th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It’s a day I will never forget.” –George W. Bush, Marlton, New Jersey, Oct. 18, 2004
“The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany.” –George W. Bush, D.C., May 5, 2006
May 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pmReally dumb tangential question: How come it is vital for the internl peace and tranquility in Iraq to disarm the various factions
BUT
In the USA, the story is that, along with the Bill of Rights, an armed citizenry is vital to our internal peace and tranquility ?
And yet the NRA seems much more likely to support McCain (who is taking guns away from Iraqis) than the demo candidate.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pmthat should be:
“My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific.” —George W. Bush, who apparently forgot about a little something called World War II, Tokyo, Feb. 18, 2002
May 27th, 2008 at 5:01 pmGood question. Not sure if the answer is a variation of IOKIYAR or not. Y’know — it; okay for US to have guns, but you folks… no.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pmMapleStreet…
Nice observation.
Republicans and libertarians don’t do irony.
Irony is an adjective to them–it’s how they describe the shirts their housebound wives give them before they go off to ‘work’.
“Say, this shirt sure is irony!”
May 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pmDieNowForPeace Says:
I’ve never understood why anyone would wear a flack jacket without a helmet, unless you believe you’d make a fine looking headless corpse…
May 27th, 2008 at 4:58 pm Recommend (2) | Report Abuse
McCain’s head isn’t a vital body part.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:40 pmJohn-Boy’s wearing his flip-flops again.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pmLets talk about the 900 lies of the current admin JT.
Better yet Ronald Reagan told Menachem Begin that he had personally helped liberate the death camps–when in fact he’d only personally helped make a propaganda newsreel about doing so on a Hollywood lot.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:49 pmIt is as simple as this:
May 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pmRepugs need a contiuous supply of recruits, without which, they must draft or end the war (even THEY are too smart to try to reenact the draft). Weighing the risk of each, they must feel recycling troops to death is their safest bet, and keeping recruits from advancing is the safest way to keep them fighting.
Should these criminals decide to read between the lines, however, they would understand that the lack of NEW recruits directly reflects the utter disdain for this pointless war, and the lack of support for it.
I can’t get to the old version of McCain’s webpage, so I suggest you fix that link.
Second, I was at that very webpage a couple of weeks ago, before his staff updated it. The page also called for the implementation of a surge strategy. The surge strategy began implementation in Feb-2007, which should tell anyone that McCain’s webpage was woefully out of date, by at least 15 months. McCain’s pronouncements on troop levels have generally followed General Petraeus’. Last April, when Petraeus appeared before Senate committees, McCain agreed with the general’s assessment that troops be reduced ’til mid-July, then paused for six weeks.
This isn’t the “gotcha” that you’re trying to portray.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:55 pmObama is like Reagsn, except he Reagan didnt claim his uncle was the liberator, who knew?
Nice Try JT.
Oh, BTW Im not an Obama supporter, I just disapprove of the RNC hypocrisy when it comes to their use of ’selective history.’
May 27th, 2008 at 5:57 pmJohn McCain says he’ll never surrender in Iraq; while having also said Barack Obama has wanted to surrender for some time.
This is the classic fubar, Rovewellian schtupping of the message into the public mindset.
Barack Obama doesn’t want to surrender, he is simply willing to give our troops the victory they won long ago, the victory denied them by GW Bogus & the Lie Factory; the victory McCain will continue to deny them!
How many times have we heard from military leaders, that there is no military solution in Iraq? How many polls have shown the majority of the American people, the majority of the Iraqi people, and the majority of the Iraqi government WANT US OUT?
Our troops finished their job in Iraq long ago. They have been denied victory so that GW Bogus & the Lie Factory can use America’s resources to exploit Iraq’s resources. Period. McCain will only continue the Lie Factory’s policies.
OBAMA, OH EIGHT!!!!!!!!
May 27th, 2008 at 6:13 pmWell, McCain it seems is conflating two different things. I dont know how one surrenders to a nation building campaign, which is odd because Iraq was declared sovereign by Bush.
The war against terrorism is a much broader battle than Afghanistan or Iraq and the word terrorist could mean a drug smuggler from Mexico….
I really wish the candidates and the current occupier of Casa Blanca would differentiate between the two as getting out of Iraq has nothing to do with surrendering the war on a word.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:38 pm#33-Questionauthority believes that Obama is “… willing to give our troops the victory they won long ago…” Pray tell, over whom was this “victory” accomplished, against the Iraqi resistance? The United States has about as much chance of obtaining victory over the Iraqis as they did of defeating the Vietnamese some forty years ago. It should also not be forgotten that this alleged anti-war candidate wishes to leave close to 100,000 troops in Iraq or in the region, even after his phased [not immediate] withdrawal is finally complete. It should be acknowledged that doing that will never win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
Support the troops. Bring them home-All of them-now.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:55 pmAccording to Bush, the mission was accomplished in May 03. Why have we not brought the troops how if that was true? I think we are asking the wrong question. Lets agree with the idiot, and convince him he was right. (In the sense that he wanted to take down Saddam, he was right). Lets just leave Iraq to its flower strewn streets and cheering crowds.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:01 pm