|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
May 15th,
2008 - McCain Outlines Vision of Iraq Victory |
|
McCain Outlines Vision of
Iraq Victory By Glen Johnson Associated Press May 15, 2008 Columbus, Ohio - Republican
John McCain declared for the first time Thursday he believes the Iraq war can
be won by 2013, although he rejected suggestions that his talk of a timetable
put him on the same side as Democrats clamoring for full-scale troop
withdrawals. The Republican presidential
contender, in a mystical speech that also envisioned Osama bin Laden dead or
captured, and Americans with the choice of paying a simple flat tax or
following their standard 1040 form, said only a small number of troops would
remain in Iraq by the end of a prospective first term because al-Qaida will
have been defeated and Iraq's government will be functioning on its own. "By January 2013,
America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have
sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq
War has been won," McCain told an audience of several hundred here in
the capital city of a general election battleground state. Later, as the Arizona
senator drove to the airport on his "Straight Talk Express"
campaign bus, McCain was peppered by reporters with questions about the
timetable. He and his aides insisted there was a difference between ending
the war and bringing troops home and, as they criticize the Democrats,
announcing a withdrawal upfront without regard for the military endgame. "It's not a timetable;
it's victory. It's victory, which I have always predicted. I didn't know when
we were going to win World War II; I just knew we were going to win,"
McCain said. The Vietnam veteran added:
"I know from experience, you set a day for surrender - which is
basically what you do when you say you are withdrawing - and you will pay a
much a heavier price later on." In the primary campaign,
McCain had criticized former Republican rival Mitt Romney for hinting at a
timetable. Democrats challenged
McCain's comments, led by presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton. In a statement, the New York
senator dismissed McCain and said he "promises more of the same Bush
policies that have weakened our military, our national security and our
standing in the world." Other Democrats equated
McCain's comment with President Bush's May 1, 2003, speech on the deck of an
aircraft carrier displaying a "Mission Accomplished" banner. Democratic National
Committee Chairman Howard Dean said, "The reality behind Senator
McCain's new rhetoric is that his plans either ignore the problems he
identifies or actually makes them worse." In his remarks, McCain
peered through a crystal ball to 2013 and envisioned an era of bipartisanship
driven by weekly news conferences and British-style question periods with
joint meetings of Congress. The senator conceded he
cannot make the changes alone, but said he wanted to outline a specific
governing style to show the accomplishments it can achieve. He backed up his
remarks with a Web ad featuring similar content. "I'm not interested in
partisanship that serves no other purpose than to gain a temporary advantage
over our opponents. This mindless, paralyzing rancor must come to an end. We
belong to different parties, not different countries," McCain said.
"There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected
president, the era of the permanent campaign will end; the era of
problem-solving will begin." To the disdain of some
fellow Republicans, the likely GOP nominee has worked with Democrats on
legislation aimed at overhauling campaign finance regulations, redrafting
immigration rules and regulations and implementing government spending
controls. While that has cultivated a
maverick image for McCain, the Arizona senator has also been accused of
exhibiting a nasty temper - swearing even at fellow lawmakers from his own
party - and unabashed partisanship. In particular, McCain has
clashed with the leading Democratic presidential contender, Barack Obama.
After tangling with the Illinois senator on lobbying reforms, McCain
questioned Obama's integrity in a publicly released 2006 letter. McCain wrote he had thought
Obama's interest in ethics legislation "was genuine and admirable,"
before adding: "Thank you for disabusing me of such notions." He
accused Obama of "partisan posturing." In outlining other potential
achievements of a first term in his speech, the 71-year-old McCain implicitly
was suggesting he would seek a second term, an attempt to mute suggestions he
would serve only four years after being the oldest president elected. In particular, he sees a
world in which the Taliban threat in Afghanistan has been greatly reduced. He added: "The increase
in actionable intelligence that the counterinsurgency produced led to the
capture or death of Osama bin Laden, and his chief lieutenants. ... There
still has not been a major terrorist attack in the United States since Sept.
11, 2001." McCain also pledged to halt
a Bush administration practice of enacting laws with accompanying signing
statements that exempt the president from having to enforce parts he finds
objectionable. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isA8k_ixGbCYfRef-s5Bec7H_MngD90M8SKG0 |