Obama Memo: JOHN McCAIN on IRAQ: 4 more Years of bush’s foreign policy

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Obama Camp Response to McCain Memo on IraqFrom the Obama campaign:

JOHN McCAIN on IRAQ: 4 more Years of bush’s foreign policy

“All John McCain has ever looked for in Iraq are reasons to stay there indefinitely. He has stubbornly championed a strategy of fighting an unnecessary war in Iraq regardless of the shifting facts offered to justify it, regardless of the levels of violence and political progress in the country, and regardless of the gathering strength of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And now, as he advocates a policy of staying in Iraq indefinitely, it is clear that he is going to continue to adhere to George Bush’s ideological agenda even as every other critical national security challenge is neglected, and our troops continue to fight tour after tour of duty and our taxpayers spend $10 billion a month in Iraq,” said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.

During the course of the Iraq War, John McCain has steadfastly stood behind President Bush on continuing the war in Iraq with no real plan to end our troops’ involvement, or to free up troops and resources to focus on Afghanistan. Despite changes in the situation on the ground, McCain has never deviated from his support of George Bush’s strategy of endless war. See below for more information.

McCain Praised Bush’s Handling Of The Iraq War

2008: McCain Said “No One Has Supported President Bush on Iraq More Than I Have.” During a March 2008 interview on The Mike Gallagher Show, McCain stated, “no one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.”

2007: McCain “Sticking With The President” On Escalation in Iraq. Speaking in support of the President’s State of the Union speech in which he emphasized support of the proposed escalation of 21,000 additional forces in Iraq, McCain said, “I’m sticking with the president.”

2006: McCain Had Full Confidence in Bush’s Ability to Lead the War. McCain was asked if he had confidence in Bush and his national security team to “lead the war,” to which he responded, “I do. I do. I have confidence in the president and I believe that he is well aware of the severity of the situation.” He also said that “I know that the president’s committed to win and I know the president’s committed to prevail.”

2006: McCain Cited Bush’s Record in the War on Terror as Reason to Trust Bush. In a statement McCain said “the President’s leadership has earned our trust in the war on terror, and surely his administration deserves the presumption that they would not sell our security short.”

2006: McCain Said That Iraq Was “On The Right Track” As The Country Moved Closer To Civil War. Speaking on the “Imus in the Morning” radio show on March 1, 2006, McCain played down the increasing civil violence in Iraq. When Imus remarked that Iraq “already looks like a civil war,” McCain responded, saying, “I keep trying to look at the bright side of this because we have to because the consequences of failure are catastrophic. But the gathering of the seven most respected religious leaders the day before yesterday, calling for calm and calling for some kind of reconciliation, I think, was important. I think, at least we’re on the right track here.”

2006: McCain “Confident” In Bush’s Judgment on Troop Withdrawal. McCain said he was confident that U.S. President George W. Bush “will only withdraw troops based on conditions on the ground.”

2003: McCain Said Bush Led With “Clarity” And Did Not Exaggerate the Case for War. During an interview with a live audience, Senator McCain praised President Bush on his leadership on the Iraq war and said, “I think the president has led with great clarity and I think he’s done a great job leading the country, don’t you all?” And asked if he think the president exaggerated the case for war, McCain said, “I don’t think so…I think that he made a strong case and I think that case has been verified with discovery of mass graves and the brutality of this incredible regime.”

McCain and Bush: Same Talking Points, Same Scare Tactics, Same Failed Policies

Mission Accomplished

Standing Under A “Mission Accomplished” Banner, Bush Declared An End To Major Combat Operations. While giving a speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and standing under a giant “Mission Accomplished” banner, Bush announced, “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”

McCain: “The Major Conflict is Over, the Regime Change has been Accomplished.” When John McCain appeared on the Fox News Channel in June 2003, he used the “Mission Accomplished” banner to respond to Neil Cavuto when he asserted that “many argue the conflict isn’t over”: “CAVUTO: But — but after a conflict… MCCAIN: Let me just say… CAVUTO: … Senator — after a conflict means after the conflict, and many argue the conflict isn’t over. MCCAIN: Well, then why was there a banner that said mission accomplished on the aircraft carrier? Look, the — I have said a long time that reconstruction of Iraq would be a long, long, difficult process, but the conflict — the major conflict is over, the regime change has been accomplished, and it’s very appropriate.”

McCain Said The Mission Is “Accomplished.” McCain: “I just think — as I said — I think we will find weapons of mass destruction. Now, I think it’s entirely appropriate now that regime change has been orchestrated — and though the danger is certainly not over, the mission is ‘accomplished’ — it’s appropriate to have a hearing.”

50+ Years

Bush Said He Envisioned Staying In Iraq For More Than 50 Years. “President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said Wednesday.”

McCain Said He would Be “Fine” To Stay In Iraq For More Than 50 Years. When McCain was asked a question about George Bush’s belief that we will stay in Iraq for fifty years McCain responded, “Make it a hundred… We’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7HYoh9YMM> >

Staying the Course

Bush: “We’ve Got to Stay the Course.” After meeting with the family of a fallen soldier, President Bush told the press, “We’ve got to stay the course and we will stay the course.”

McCain: “We’ve Got to Stay the Course.” In an interview with ABC News, McCain said, “Is Afghanistan perfect, no, we’ve got opium, we’ve got warlords but by God, it’s a heck of a lot better off than it was. And we can to do the same thing in Iraq, we’ve got to stay the course.”

Being Greeted As Liberators

Cheney Said, “I Really Do Believe We Will Be Greeted As Liberators.” While appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vice President Cheney said, “I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators. I’ve talked with a lot of Iraqis in the last several months myself, had them to the White House. The president and I have met with them, various groups and individuals, people who have devoted their lives from the outside to trying to change things inside Iraq.”

McCain Said “The Iraqi People Will Greet Us As Liberators.” While appearing on NBC’s The Today Show, McCain said, “But I believe, Katie, that the Iraqi people will greet us as liberators. I believe that they will have an opportunity over time, and it will be difficult, to realize the same hopes and dreams and aspirations that every person in the world has and deserves the opportunity to live in a free and open society.”

Cutting and Running

Bush Said The U.S. Will Not “Cut and Run.” During an interview, President Bush said that Iraqi’s “need to know that we won’t leave the country prematurely. They need to know two things: we’re not going to cut and run; and two, we believe they have the capacity to run their own country.”

McCain Said The U.S. Can’t “Cut and Run.” According to the Associated Press, McCain said, “We can’t cut and run.” They added, “Bush’s most important ally may be McCain.”

Terrorists Following Us Home

Bush Said The Terrorists Would Follow “Follow Us Home” If The U.S. Withdrew From Iraq. While speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Kansas City, President Bush said, “Unlike in Vietnam, if we withdraw before the job is done, this enemy will follow us home. And that is why, for the security of the United States of America, we must defeat them overseas so we do not face them in the United States of America.”

McCain Said The Terrorists Would “Follow Us Home” If The U.S. Withdrew From Iraq. McCain said “I believe al Qaeda would trumpet to the world that they had defeated the United States of America , and I believe that therefore they would try to follow us home.”

Surrender In Iraq

Bush Accused Democrats of Waving The “White Flag of Surrender.” While speaking at a fundraiser for Sen. Jim Talent, Bush said, “There’s a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done. They’re willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off.”

Bush: Democrats Are Setting “Arbitrary Deadline for Surrender and Withdrawal” in Iraq. “In recent days, the House and Senate each passed emergency war spending bills that undercut our troops in the field. Each of the Democrats’ bills would substitute the judgment of politicians in Washington for that of our generals on the ground. Each bill would impose restrictive conditions on our military commanders. Each bill would also set an arbitrary deadline for surrender and withdrawal in Iraq, and I believe that would have disastrous consequences for our safety here at home.”

McCain Accused Democrats of Raising The “White Flag of Surrender.” According to Agence France Presse, McCain said, “I’m so proud of the jobs that the men and women in the military are doing there, and they don’t want us to raise the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does.”

McCain: A Date for Withdrawal from Iraq is a “Date for Surrender.” “Midway through his three-day ‘No Surrender’ tour, McCain focused his brief remarks on Iraq in a packed VFW hall here, scarcely mentioning his Republican presidential candidacy. ‘The strategy is succeeding,’ but hasn’t had enough time to develop, McCain said of President Bush’s troop surge. ‘A date for withdrawal, I view as a date for surrender, that we would choose to lose. I don’t believe we should choose to lose,’ he said.”

http://thepage.time.com/obama-camp-response-to-mccain-memo-on-iraq/