McCain urges changes in Bush's Iraq strategy (commit more troops)

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10186789.htm

McCain urges changes in Bush's Iraq strategy


WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Republican Sen. John McCain, a major backer of the Iraq war, said on Thursday the Bush administration must make broad changes in its strategy to confront the insurgency in Iraq, and commit more troops and resources to the effort.

McCain, the Arizona maverick who challenged George W. Bush for the presidential nomination in 2000 and is considered likely to make another run, repudiated calls from many Democrats for a plan to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.

In his speech to the American Enterprise Institute, he also praised the resolve of Bush, whose poll ratings have plummeted partly on discontent over the Iraq war. McCain did not mention his dispute with the administration over its treatment of military detainees, or his push to ban cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of those in U.S. custody.


A senior member of the Armed Services Committee, McCain said the administration must take a new approach in Iraq that he said would require more U.S. troops and would "take time, probably years, and mean more American casualties."

:wtf:

[Caution]

1. Good. Keep saying that McCain. He's the only repub that scares me for 08

and if he keeps pushing this it'll ruin his chances.

[goclark]

42. I heard on AAR that he would lead

over Clinton or Kerry in 08 ~ right?

Please tell me people don't like Casper, please.

He is such a joke to me.

[kwolf68]

2. War Support...Sport the War....

The sport is war...total war...
when the end is a slaughter
the final swing is not a drill
it's how many people I can kill


---

[saigon68]

23. Who will be the last person to die in VIET-NAM

and why are they dying?

[montanacowboy]

3. This guy has totally lost it

yeh, McCain, more war, more troops, more death, hell yeh, why not

[PunkPop]

4. Is he going to re-enlist to help the cause?

Dick.

[VegasWolf]

5. Yeah, McCain! Kill more Americans for a lost cause!!! Way to go!! nt

[Cha]

6. SEND MORE PEOPLE TO

BE KILLED OR MAIMED FOR A WAR BASED ON LIES AND BOGUS INFO. That's right, mccain, pour more blood and treasure down the seemingly bottomless pit.

[cal04]

7. I guess McCain just doesn't get the message from the American

people. What a jerk
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Nov. 3-6 among 1,201 Americans, finds that the public also continues to view the war in Iraq as the most important problem facing the country. About three-in-ten (29%) volunteer the war as the biggest national problem, up from 24% in May, while 11% mention the economy.

Fifty-seven percent believe he deliberately misled people to make the case for war, compared with 35 percent who say he gave the most accurate information he had. In addition, 58 percent are less confident the war will come to a successful conclusion, and 57 percent say the United States should reduce the number of U.S. troops there.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. He has lost his way. Did he forget that the purpose of the war

was to "disarm" Iraq for the safety of the USA? It had nothing to do with suppressing a civil war. His reasoning here is exactly what kept us in Vietnam for so long.

[ClintonTyree]

9. That makes sense, go from "stay the course" to "up the ante".

:eyes: Why can't these assholes accept the fact that the middle east is NEVER going to be a stable, embracer of democracy? OK, I should never say never, but it sure as hell isn't going to be in my lifetime. Will it take 3 decades, 4 or more? Are we willing to keep American troops there for as long as it takes? NO!

Get out. Now! We cannot afford, both economically and in the cost of human lives, to continue PNAC's little experiment in exporting democracy. It just isn't going to work and it's time they accepted that fact.

NO more troops! NO more war! GET OUT OF IRAQ, NOW!

[Megahurtz]

10. Good One, McCain!

:sarcasm:
:argh:

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Praised Bush? The same one that suggested he fathered a black child?

My, what a dysfunctional family we have in the right-wing.

[Larkspur]

12. McCain/Hillary '08!!

They both support sending in more troops, so they just should get together and form a Prez ticket.

[rodeodance]

13. a major speech on Irag.--tells me he is running.

[Tight_rope]

14. "commit more troops and resources to the effort"?.....WTF

:wtf: What troops...we have none left. No one is signing up to get killed in this war and I for one don't blame them. I do everything possible to discourage those who even mention joining the service.

I tell them. "IT AIN'T WORF IT MISS CEILLY". Them there white folk in that there big white house up there in D.C. don't giva shit bout nonnah us black folk. Lettem sen summa they own yug chilens and kin folk iffin they wanna go killin them Irackies. :beer:

[RDANGELO]

15. Psst , hey John, you just lost the 08 election. n/t

[Disturbed]

17. John McCain, Hypocrite

John McCain, Hypocrite
by Doug Ireland

John McCain, the media's darling, has found a clever way around his own campaign finance reform law to take big corporate bucks in furtherance of his political ambitions while carrying water for the corporate mammoth providing the dough. But the national press is ignoring the story.

The Associated Press first ran the story of John McCain's odorous but lucrative Senatorial service to the communications giant Cablevision on the afternoon of March 7. But, while some local papers in McCain's home state (like the East Valley Tribune) have run the story, nothing has as yet made it into the print editions of the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, or any of the half-dozen other big city dailies I checked (although, if one searches the hundreds of AP stories available on the Post's website on its Politics page by clicking on "Latest Wire Reports," one can find it there--but how many readers would bother to do that?) One notable exception: the Kansas City Star.

Here's what the AP's investigation found:

McCain repeatedly intervened on behalf of a policy Cablevision favored -- one which "congressional and private studies conclude could make cable more expensive" -- while his chief political adviser, Rick Davis (who's masterminding McCain's probable '08 presidential rerun) solicited $200,000 in contributions from Cablevision to an institute that promotes McCain and pays Davis a $110,000 annual salary.

The Reform Institute was set up to promote McCain and his issues--especially campaign finance reform, embodied in the famous McCain-Feingold law. This Institute is "a tax-exempt group that touts McCain's views and has showcased him at events since his unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign," and it "often uses the senator's name in press releases and fund-raising letters and includes him at press conferences," the AP says. And, of course, it provides a cushy sinecure with no heavy lifting for McCain's main man, Davis, as he prepares the pontificating Senator's next presidential run. Cablevision's contributions account for a whopping 15% of the Institute's budget.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0309-35.htm

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

21. Keep on spouting that pro-war rheteric, John. And, by the way, thank you,

John. You just made electing an anti-war Democrat for President really easy for us in 08...

:applause:

[0007]

16. Dumb dumb dumb idea. n/t

[brentspeak]

18. The occupation disaster in Iraq would have been avoided if

Bush had listened to his generals and sent at least 600,000 troops to maintain the nation and the borders. Too late now; another 20,000 or so won't make much of a difference at this point.

Of course, the entire disaster in general could have been avoided had there been no invasion in the first place.

[Skip Intro]

19. Up to his neck in the blood of innocents, whore mccain calls for more

this was a political stunt for him, just like his support of bush's attack - going thru human life like a box of kleenex.

fuck john mccain

[Jacobin]

20. Hey!! It worked in Viet Nam......right?

er, maybe not so much. But but but, they only sent 550,000 troops at a time to Nam. Maybe we need about TEN MILLION troops. Yeah, that's the ticket.

He and Hillary can run on that platform.

Of course McCain wasn't involved in VietNam so he wouldn't know....er, well, maybe not so much.

He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, that much is clear.

[FlemingsGhost]

22. "Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when ...

you have forgotten your aim."

-- George Santanaya

Why are we in Iraq, again, Sen. McCain?

[Mend]

24. let's start with Jenna and not-Jenna and his kids

because he ain't getting mine....dumb fuck.

[wordpix]

25. exactly right. when these war whores start committing their children to

the "cause," whatever that is, I'll start listening. And their not getting my duaghter, either.

[UndergroundRadical]

26. There will be no exit strategy.....

until Bush is out of office. If he pulls out it will signal weakness and incompetence. And he's far too arrogant to do that simple action.

[teryang]

27. McCain's obsession is reminiscent of interwar Germany's

We were betrayed in Vietnam. We could have won the war only if we took the gloves. If anyone remembers "taking the gloves off" was a favorite Cheney jingo after 911. "The world is changed forever!"

Living down Vietnam and the Vietnam war "hangover" is what McCain is about deep down inside. He can't get over it. Nor can the massive ego's of the big shareholders in defense contractor sector. How could anyone beat us if we apply more resources and abandoned all caution as to possible consequences of unlimited application of force (in total disregard of commercial reality and balance of power considerations)?

[pinniped]

28. The #1 whore whored for Herr Gropenfuhrer and still whores for *.

This dude is crazy.

[devinsgram]

29. Every time he opens his mouth,

...he makes the noose tighter, and he wants to run for president..:rofl:

[Barkley]

30. People we've got work to get politicians like McCain out of office!

This goes beyond party politics; 2060 dead Americans is an unacceptable price to pay for "bring democracy to the middle east".

Would the Iraqis make such sacrafices to 'save' or 'liberate' us?

I seriously doubt it.

Let's not support any politician that is for sending more of our young people off to die for oil.

[donkeyotay]

31. From "Mission Accomplished" to Mission Creep

It was wrong to go, but it's right to stay. Go ahead, Senator, and define what success will look like so we'll know when we get there.

[merwin]

32. Kick

:kick:

[merwin]

33. McCain urges changes in Bush's Iraq Strategy

McCain urges changes in Bush's Iraq Strategy
Published: Saturday, 12 November, 2005, 10:40 AM Doha Time

WASHINGTON: Republican Sen. John McCain, a major backer of the Iraq war, said on Thursday the Bush administration must make broad changes in its strategy to confront the insurgency in Iraq, and commit more troops and resources to the effort.

McCain, the Arizona maverick who challenged George W Bush for the presidential nomination in 2000 and is considered likely to make another run, repudiated calls from many Democrats for a plan to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.

In his speech to the American Enterprise Institute, he also praised the resolve of Bush, whose poll ratings have plummeted partly on discontent over the Iraq war.

McCain stood firm in his dispute with the White House over legislation he has proposed outlawing torture or cruel and inhumane treatment of US prisoners. Vice President Dick Cheney is working in Congress to exempt the CIA from such a formal ban.

“We’re either going to have a blanketed uniform standard or we’re not,” McCain said in answer to a question. He said torturing to get information was immoral, was not effective and encouraged potential enemies to do the same to Americans.
...

[stepnw1f]

34. Shiut Up Jerk

You GOP tool... remember hugging George. Yeah we all know about you now.

[unblock]

35. perhaps we could try bombing the crap out of cambodia

:shrug:

[halobeam]

36. He's preaching immorality? O.M.F.G.

I've had it with him. Thought I had it with him as much as I could, but he ups the anti, the more he speaks. Of course torture is immoral, but killing for war profiteers and all of it based on lies, isn't? Hey, I know, let's add more innocent blood into the mix right McCain? What a wack job.

On one of the other umpteen posts about his grand idea, someone posted (sorry, can't remember who at this time) that he didn't learn from Vietnam. Adding troops to a "no win" OCCUPATION, with no clear mission, nor exit strategy, nor any kind of plan, won't change a damn thing, except the death toll.

[stepnw1f]

37. He's Just a Political Hack

willing to say anything to save him from the sinking ship he decided long ago to ride. Fuck him... he's done.

[bluedog]

38. McCain....time to check his "records"

********we need to take a long hard look at McCain.......think as a republican would......they smeared him......a war hero.....they smeared Kerry about his medals.......lets look at McCain........be as nasty and dirty as the GOP'ers are.......

our trouble is we don't fight.to the exrent as they do..remember the "band- aids" for Kerry purple heart?

Lets find poeple who actually knew McCains war record.see if he did tell the enemy secrets........all the dirt......we cann not let this bush ass kisser win.






remember what he said about clinton

More from WaPo article

Senator McCain from a WaPo article that quotes Bush in the diary: But McCain, a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam, joined other Republicans in denouncing what he called the administration's lack of an "exit strategy" in Kosovo and said he opposes deploying U.S. ground troops unless they are peacekeepers as part of a solid pact to end the fighting. "It's terribly frustrating that there's no endgame here," he said in a telephone interview. "If the bombing doesn't work, what then? The administration will not answer that question. There's no Plan B."


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/18/161016/461

[MichiganVote]

39. What strategy? I don't see a strategy.

[quinnox]

40. McCain isn't going anywhere in 2008 with this lunacy

What an idiot!!

Aren't politicians supposed to know the mood of the country? McCain needs to look at one of the tons of polls that shows Americans are sick of Iraq war. They will be even sicker by the time 2008 rolls around.

[daleo]

41. More Republican bizzaro land reasoning

What is really needed are more troops, a longer war, and more deaths. That spells success.