McCain attacks Obama on Iraq policy announcement 17/07/2008 - 18:46:36
Republican US presidential candidate John McCain criticised his Democratic rival Barack Obama today for announcing his Iraq policy before visiting the country later this month.
Mr McCain said Mr Obama had only visited Iraq once before – and had never been to Afghanistan – yet announced his plans in relation to the two countries before a high-profile “fact-finding” trip.
The 71-year-old Arizona senator was speaking as his campaign’s communications director Jill Hazelbaker labelled his Democratic rival’s forthcoming trip as “the first of its kind, campaign rally overseas”.
Mr Obama will visit several countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Britain, but details have not been released for security reasons.
Mr McCain said it was “quite remarkable” that the 46-year-old Illinois senator made a key foreign policy speech earlier this week – before his visit to Iraq.
“I usually do mine when I get back,” he said.
He added that the “success” in Iraq “could be easily reversed if we do what Senator Obama wants to do”.
Mr McCain said he hoped Mr Obama would sit down with the US generals in charge of the operations in Iraq, “and that he will understand what’s at stake here”.
Speaking to supporters at a town hall meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr McCain said: “I’m happy to tell you that we have succeeded in Iraq and unless we reverse the strategy that’s succeeded, we will win this war.
“But it is fragile and the strategy must be dictated by the situation on the ground – not some artificially, politically-inspired schedule for withdrawal, as Senator Obama wants to do.”
To a standing ovation, he added that he has always said he “would much rather lose a political campaign than lose a war” and added he was willing to do “whatever was necessary” to do that.
Earlier this week, Mr Obama, who was taking a day away from the campaign trail in his home city of Chicago today, said his main priority as president would be to end US involvement in Iraq.
He called for the withdrawal of most American forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office and said the war there “distracts us from every threat that we face”.
Mr Obama added that his plan would free as many as 7,000 troops to fight al Qaida and Taliban militants in Afghanistan, “a war that we have to win”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said America would break with its past policy and send a top US diplomat, Under-secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, to talks with an Iranian envoy in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday.
The US State Department was also considering opening a US interest section in Tehran, Iran, similar to the one it operates in Havana, Cuba.
Mr Obama has said he would engage in talks with Iran, unlike Mr McCain.
HOME PAGE
ARCHIVES
Republican US presidential candidate John McCain criticised his Democratic rival Barack Obama today for announcing his Iraq policy before visiting the country later this month.
|