McCain follows in Bush's footsteps, mistakes and all

Americans say they're fed up with the disastrous mistakes and breathtaking incompetence of George Bush's presidency. Yet John McCain promises more of the same. He consistently ignores the harsh light of reality when viewing the Iraq War.

As I have written previously, we are not at war with the Iraqis. We invaded Iraq based on 935 lies put forth by members of the Bush administration. We are acting primarily as "policemen" in Iraq, due to sectarian violence and Al Qaida-related insurgents that have set up shop amidst the chaos. But if George Bush has his way, our soldiers could spend many, many years policing the bitter infighting in Iraq. Bush is trying to reach agreement with the Iraqi government - an agreement without Congressional authority or input, which the president does not have the power to make - that US soldiers will remain in Iraq.

Here are a few hard cold facts about McCain's advocacy of war in Iraq:

• When advocating going to war with Iraq, McCain used many of the same arguments as Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and George Bush. He co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization that gave Bush the green light—and a blank check—for going to war with Iraq. McCain argued Saddam Hussein was "a threat of the first order." He said a policy of containing Iraq to blunt its weapons of mass destruction program is "unsustainable, ineffective, unworkable and dangerous."
• "I believe Iraq is a threat of the first order and only a change of regime will make Iraq a state that does not threaten us and others and where liberated people assume the rights and responsibilities of freedom," he said in a Feb. 13, 2003 speech to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. McCain echoed Bush and Cheney's rationale for going to war.  "It's going to send the message throughout the Middle East that democracy can take hold in the Middle East," McCain said in a Feb. 21, 2003 segment on Hannity & Colmes, Fox.
• McCain also followed Bush and Cheney's talking points that the U.S. would be in Iraq only for a short time. Speaking to ABC on April 9, 2003, McCain said, "It's clear that the end is very much in sight. ... It won't be long...it'll be a fairly short period of time." On Sept. 24, 2002, he told CNN that winning the war would be "easy." "I know that as successful as I believe we will be and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women," McCain said.
• McCain praised former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Asked May 12, 2004  on Hannity and Colmes if Rumsfeld could continue to be an effective secretary of defense, McCain: "Yes, today I do and I believe he's done a fine job. He's an honorable man."
• At the 2004 Republican National Convention, McCain said that while weapons of mass destruction were not found, Saddam Hussein once had them and "he would have acquired them again." McCain said the mission in Iraq "gave hope to people long oppressed" and it was "necessary, achievable and noble." He praised Bush for "his determination to undertake it and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end." "I think the president has led with great clarity and I think he's done a great job leading the country..." McCain said on April 23, 2003 on Hardball, MSNBC.
• On Jan. 6, 2008, McCain said on Meet the Press, "The war, the invasion was not a mistake. Asked in the Jan. 24th Republican Debate if the war was a good idea - worth the price in blood and treasure, McCain responded: "It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction and it's clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring them." Of course the reality was that Saddam Hussein had long abandoned his weapons program and was no threat to his neighbours.
• Questioned on Fox on July 31, 2003 if he thought the president exaggerated the case for war, , McCain replied, "I don't think so." According to Michael Shank of the Foreign Policy in Focus think tank, McCain was at times Bush's "most solid support in the Senate" on Iraq. McCain voted against holding Bush accountable for his actions in the war. He opposed creation of an independent commission to investigate the development and use of intelligence leading up to the war.

McCain keeps moving the goal posts of progress for the war—until recently, claiming it would be over "soon."

January 2003: "But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily." [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
March 2003: "I believe that this conflict is still going to be relatively short." [NBC, Meet the Press, 3/30/03]
June 2004: "The terrorists know that this is a very critical time." [CNN, 6/23/04]
December 2005: "Overall, I think a year from now, we will have a fair amount of progress [in Iraq] if we stay the course." [The Hill, 12/8/05]
November 2006: "We're either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months." [NBC, Meet the Press, 11/12/06]

McCain now says he sees no end to the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.  "Make it a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be fine with me," he joked at the Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting on Jan. 3, 2008. Well to most of us, war is no laughing matter - especially a war undertaken on false pretenses, where our soldiers needlessly are dying or coming home with serious life-altering injuries. On Jan. 4, McCain told the Associated Press troops may remain in Iraq "A thousand years. A million years. Ten million years. It depends on the arrangement we have with the Iraqi government." The latter was a reference to the deal George Bush is trying to cut with the current Iraqi government, while bypassing Congress and the law. McCain apparently sees no problem with the president's actions, never mind the legality.

McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military, which is having a devastating impact on our troops. The Arizona senator voted against requiring mandatory minimum downtime between tours of duty for troops serving in Iraq. He was one of only 13 senators to vote against adding $430 million for inpatient and outpatient care for veterans - even though he, himself is a veteran. Time and time again, McCain has voted against a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq, despite the rationale for being there having been proven false.

McCain consistently attempts to demonize Americans who want to find a responsible way to remove troops from Iraq and take the fight to al Qaida - the real culprits behind the Sept. 11th atrocities.  "I believe to set a date for withdrawal is to set a date for surrender." he told the Charlotte Observer on Sept. 16, 2007. On Feb. 4, 2007, speaking to the Associated Press,  McCain called proponents of a congressional resolution opposing the troop surge in Iraq "intellectually dishonest." 

McCain shares the misguided ideology of George Bush, promising more of the same. Like Bush, McCain exhibits a stubborn refusal to face facts when it comes to Iraq and the economy. McCain has stated his willingness to continue pouring billions of dollars into Iraq; never mind that the economy can't withstand the imbalance. More and more Americans will suffer, as additional federal programs are cut and the economy is devastated. Time for a reality check, Mr. McCain.

Comments

[lucy]

i am not a particularly "political" person, HOWEVER, i do consider myself to be a responsible person who wants to be informed. in the media, it feels so much easier to know who to vote AGAINST rather than who to vote FOR. i would love it if someone would so succinctly speak of the reasons to vote FOR a candidate rather than why not to vote for them.

i hope you do not see this as criticism, but rather a plea for help. this morning in "bloglines" i saw this significant post about mccain along with a simple (very cool) poster promoting obama. (it would be more helpful for me...the moderately informed...to have it the other way around.) if i am going to be able to articulate why i have voted for someone (as suggested in a previous post) i need to understand them better. SO...any suggestions about how/where to gain valuable information (such as you post here) without having to live/breathe/& eat political news morning/noon & night?

grateful for your insight on many things :-)

Tara responds:
I have already written a few posts about Obama. The piece about McCain today was intended to document his positions about the war. I haven't written a piece about McCain saying why someone should vote for him, as I don't know of a single reason why! In previous posts I've asked other readers to give their views about McCain; most have declined the opportunity.

In future, I will be writing other posts about the political candidates, but I can't stress enough that you should read a wide variety of sources, including the various positions stated on the candidates' own websites. I think either Democratic candidate would make a good president. The piece featuring the Obama poster is intended to applaud the art; not be a political statement. Although it's no secret that following my first choice John Edwards leaving the race, at the moment, Obama has my vote. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will get my vote in November. I am not anti-Republican - in the past, I have on rare occasion voted Republican - but I can't see how McCain would do anything differently than Bush. And that's a recipe for further disaster that the US can ill afford!

[rochambeau]

;-( depressing.

[tinker]

How anyone can joke about staying in a war for a hundred years, is beyond me...

Aye-aye-aye...