John McCain's Desperate Double Talk on Iraq Continues
April 29, 2008
Even as John McCain and the Republican Party resort to baseless legal complaints and blatant distortions to avoid defending McCain's willingness to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years, new video emerged today that shows John McCain once "rejecting the very policy he urges today." McCain's campaign is arguing that he has not changed is view, and that he has always advocated a long-term troop presence in Iraq similar to that in Germany and South Korea. [Chicago Tribune, Swamp blog, 4/29/08]
But, as this new video shows, even McCain acknowledges that this approach is wrong for Iraq. Asked on MSNBC in 2005 if a permanent troop presence would work in Iraq, McCain said "no," that he wanted to "bring them all home" and that "one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence." As recently as November 2007, McCain told Charlie Rose that the "nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it" make that an unworkable solution. Today, John McCain rejects that same criticism. [Huffington Post, 4/28/08; The Charlie Rose Show, 11/27/07; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HVxPuCTes]
"John McCain's efforts to defend his double talk on Iraq are becoming more desperate and detached from reality each day," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "The American people do not want our troops in Iraq for 100 years under any circumstance, so it is easy to see why John McCain refuses to defend his own words. None of his distortions, distractions and inconsistencies can change the fact that John McCain has supported President Bush's conduct of the war every step of the way and would be fine spending money in Iraq for the next 100 years instead of investing in addressing challenges right here at home."
2005: McCain Rejects Korea, Germany Model for Iraq. "In fact, when asked specifically if he thought the U.S. military should set up shop in Iraq along the lines of what has been established in post-WWII Germany or Japan -- something McCain has repeatedly advocated during the campaign -- the senator offered nothing short of a categorical 'no.' 'I would hope that we could bring them all home,' he said on MSNBC. 'I would hope that we would probably leave some military advisers, as we have in other countries, to help them with their training and equipment and that kind of stuff.' Host Chris Matthews pressed McCain on the issue. 'You've heard the ideological argument to keep U.S. forces in the Middle East. I've heard it from the hawks. They say, keep United States military presence in the Middle East, like we have with the 7th Fleet in Asia. We have the German...the South Korean component. Do you think we could get along without it?' McCain held fast, rejecting the very policy he urges today. 'I not only think we could get along without it, but I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence,' he responded. 'And I don't pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be.'" [Huffington Post, 4/28/08]
January 2005: "Reduce Our Visibility As Much As Possible." "No, I would hope that we could bring them all home. I would hope that we would probably leave some military advisors...As soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible I think the better this is going to be." [MSNBC, 4/29/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1iVx4i4tAE]
November 2007: McCain Rejected Korean Analogy to Iraq. Asked by Charlie Rose if he thought the South Korean model would serve as an "analogy of where Iraq might be…in terms of an American presence over the next, say, 20, 25 years," McCain replied, "I don't think so." "Even if there are no casualties?" Rose questioned. "No," McCain reiterated. "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." [The Charlie Rose Show, 11/27/07; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HVxPuCTes]
January 2008: McCain Said US May Stay In Iraq For 100 Years, Long Term American Presence In Iraq Analogous To South Korea. At a New Hampshire town hall when McCain was asked "President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years." McCain responded: "Maybe 100" and "that would be fine with me." McCain explained his 100 year remark by drawing an analogy to the long-term American presence in South Korea: "We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That'd be fine with me as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed." [McCain Town Hall, Derry NH Opera House, 1/3/2008; New York Times, "The Caucus," 1/11/2008]
