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McCain assails Democrats on war in Iraq
The Associated Press
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: News
LEXINGTON, Va. - Republican presidential contender John McCain on Wednesday called the four-year Iraq conflict "necessary and just" and accused anti-war Democrats, including the party's top White House candidates, of recklessness.
Struggling to reinvigorate his troubled campaign, McCain reiterated his longtime criticism that President Bush initially went to war without a plan to succeed. But he also backed the commander in chief's recent troop increase and said Bush is right to veto legislation that places conditions on the war.
"In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering" when House Democrats enthusiastically passed legislation setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal, the Arizona senator told cadets at the Virginia Military Institute.
"A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning, not celebrating," he added.
In a quick counter to McCain, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama challenged the Republican's assessment of improved security in Baghdad and argued that only a change in strategy will bring a responsible end to the conflict.
"What we need today is a surge in honesty," the Illinois senator said in a statement, contending that McCain was measuring progress in Iraq using "the same ideological fantasies" that led the U.S. into war.
Another Democratic contender, Sen. Chris Dodd, also said McCain is wrong.
"We don't need a surge of troops in Iraq. We need a surge of diplomacy," the Connecticut senator said in prepared remarks for an Iowa speech. "The Bush/McCain Doctrine is not succeeding. It is failing."
McCain has staked his candidacy on the war's outcome, planting himself firmly on the side of the president he hopes to succeed and the three in four Republicans who view the war as a worthy cause. Most Americans, however, call it a hopeless effort.
His remarks came a week after he made his fifth trip to Iraq, where he was criticized for saying he was cautiously optimistic of success even as he toured the capital under heavy military guard. Iraqis accused him of painting too rosy a picture and U.S. critics argued he was out of step with reality.
Struggling to reinvigorate his troubled campaign, McCain reiterated his longtime criticism that President Bush initially went to war without a plan to succeed. But he also backed the commander in chief's recent troop increase and said Bush is right to veto legislation that places conditions on the war.
"In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering" when House Democrats enthusiastically passed legislation setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal, the Arizona senator told cadets at the Virginia Military Institute.
"A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning, not celebrating," he added.
In a quick counter to McCain, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama challenged the Republican's assessment of improved security in Baghdad and argued that only a change in strategy will bring a responsible end to the conflict.
"What we need today is a surge in honesty," the Illinois senator said in a statement, contending that McCain was measuring progress in Iraq using "the same ideological fantasies" that led the U.S. into war.
Another Democratic contender, Sen. Chris Dodd, also said McCain is wrong.
"We don't need a surge of troops in Iraq. We need a surge of diplomacy," the Connecticut senator said in prepared remarks for an Iowa speech. "The Bush/McCain Doctrine is not succeeding. It is failing."
McCain has staked his candidacy on the war's outcome, planting himself firmly on the side of the president he hopes to succeed and the three in four Republicans who view the war as a worthy cause. Most Americans, however, call it a hopeless effort.
His remarks came a week after he made his fifth trip to Iraq, where he was criticized for saying he was cautiously optimistic of success even as he toured the capital under heavy military guard. Iraqis accused him of painting too rosy a picture and U.S. critics argued he was out of step with reality.
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