McCain’s Brother Says McCain Would Chase Bin Laden Across Borders — Echoing Obama’s Position October 6, 2008
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At a campaign event in Virginia over the weekend, John McCain’s brother, acting as a McCain surrogate, told a crowd that McCain would pursue Osama Bin Laden across the border into a country that hadn’t granted us permission to do so, according to a tape made by a Democratic tracker that we’ve obtained.
McCain, of course, has ridiculed Obama for taking just that position with regard to Pakistan. And McCain recently had to disown comments by Sarah Palin, in which she expressed the same sentiment (albeit about Pakistan specifically) as the brother, Joe McCain, now has. Source Article
Obama Launches Ad Touting His Support Among Veterans September 26, 2008
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September 26, 2008 11:05 AM
Barack Obama is out with a new campaign ad that includes a cadre of veterans — including 2006 congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth — vouching for the Senator’s foreign policy and proposals for Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama Slams Bush, McCain Over Redeployment Plan September 9, 2008
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AFP | September 9, 2008 12:33 PM
AFP reports on Barack Obama’s harsh words for President Bush and Senator McCain today regarding foreign policy:
Speaking to reporters here, Obama accused Bush of “tinkering around the edges” and “kicking the can down the road to the next president” with his plans to remove 8,000 US troops from Iraq in the coming months and send 4,500 to Afghanistan by January.
“At this point what it appears is that the next president will inherit a status quo that is still unstable,” Obama said, adding that his Republican White House rival John McCain was bent on the same course as Bush…
Palin: Surge? What Surge? August 31, 2008
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Andrew Sullivan/The Daily Dish
31 Aug 2008 01:21 pm
Among the tiny number of occasions on which Sarah Palin has expressed even an opinion on foreign policy, one of the most recent bears putting out there one more time. It’s from a critical moment in the war in Iraq, December 2006, which John McCain has made the centerpiece of his campaign. In fact, his support for a double-down strategy in Iraq in the winter of 2006 and early 2007 is one central argument he has made for his candidacy. He has now chosen as the person who would replace him instantly if, at any time bgetween the ages of 72 and 76, he might be incapacitated or die, a person whose view of the situation was as follows: Source Article
VP choice Biden unpopular in Iraq for autonomy plan August 23, 2008
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Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:00pm EDT
By Peter Graff and Khalid al-Ansary
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Senator Joe Biden may be one of the only U.S. politicians that can get Iraq’s feuding Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish politicians to agree. But not in a good way.
Across racial and religious boundaries, Iraqi politicians on Saturday bemoaned Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama‘s choice of running mate, known in Iraq as the author of a 2006 plan to divide the country into ethnic and sectarian enclaves.
“This choice of Biden is disappointing, because he is the creator of the idea of dividing Iraq,” Salih al-Mutlaq, head of National Dialogue, one of the main Sunni Arab blocs in parliament, told Reuters.
“We rejected his proposal when he announced it, and we still reject it. Dividing the communities and land in such a way would only lead to new fighting between people over resources and borders. Iraq cannot survive unless it is unified, and dividing it would keep the problems alive for a long time.” Source Article
McCain: ‘I Said We Would Have An Easy Victory’ In Iraq And ‘We Did’ July 29, 2008
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By on Jul 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
In late 2002 and early 2003, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was a fixture on cable television, assuring Americans that an invasion of Iraq would be “easy.” “I believe that the success will be fairly easy,” McCain told CNN in September 2002. “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily,” he told MSNBC the following January.
Over the years, McCain has often claimed that he made never made rosy predictions, saying in 2006 that he “fully understood from the beginning” that Iraq “would be a very, very difficult undertaking.” In January 2007, however, he wasn’t sure what he believed. First, he said that he knew it was “going to be long and hard and tough,” but six days later he claimed, “I said the military operation would be easy. It was easy.” Source Article
Not a Gaffe: A Fundamental Misunderstanding of Iraq July 22, 2008
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Posted July 22, 2008 | 07:13 PM (EST)
John McCain made a mistake this evening, which as far as I’m concerned, disqualifies him from being president. It is so appalling and so factually wrong that I’m actually sitting here wondering who McCain’s advisers are. This isn’t some gaffe where he talks about the Iraq-Pakistan border. It’s a real misunderstanding of what has happened in Iraq over the past year. It is even more disturbing because according to John McCain, Iraq is the central front in the “war on terror.” If we are going to have an Iraq-centric policy, he should at least understand what he is talking about. But anyway, what happened.
On Katie Couric tonight McCain says:
Kate Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?
McCain: I don’t know how you respond to something that is as — such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane [phonetic] was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history. Thanks to General Petraeus, our leadership, and the sacrifice of brave young Americans. I mean, to deny that their sacrifice didn’t make possible the success of the surge in Iraq, I think, does a great disservice to young men and women who are serving and have sacrificed.
Obama to face skepticism during Mideast trip July 22, 2008
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Israelis worry how US will handle Iran
JERUSALEM – When he arrives in Israel today, Barack Obama will set off on the same type of dignitary circuit he has planned elsewhere on his foreign trip. But nowhere are he and his brand of charismatic internationalism likely to receive such a skeptical welcome.
The difficulty Obama has encountered in trying to win over Israelis, whose attention to American politics revolves almost entirely around diplomatic and security policy toward the Middle East, magnifies a broader challenge that the presumptive Democratic nominee also faces at home.
Despite indicating broad support for many of Obama’s individual foreign-policy positions, polls have demonstrated American voters have far less confidence in his ability to serve as commander in chief than his Republican rival, John McCain. Source Article
Barack Obama in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah July 22, 2008
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Elana Schor
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday July 22, 2008
Barack Obama headed to Jordan today to tackle the next diplomatic challenge on his foreign tour: balancing support for a future Palestinian state with a strong defence of Israel.
Obama is expected to visit King Abdullah in Amman for talks and a formal dinner before moving on to Israel for two days.
On arriving in Jordan, he commented on the Iraqi prime minister’s recent approval of his goal to withdraw most US troops within 16 months after taking office.
“I welcome the growing consensus in the United States and Iraq for a timeline,” Obama said, emphasising that he did not support a “precipitous” military pullout, the prospect of which has raised alarms in Iraq and the US.
If Abdullah opts to test Obama’s fortitude on the Middle East during their meeting, the Democratic nominee’s struggle to carve out a clear stance on the division of Jerusalem could quickly become a make-or-break issue. Source Article
Obama Snubbed Fox News On Trip Abroad July 22, 2008
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July 22, 2008 03:33 PM
Stephen Colbert point outs something that no one seems to have noticed: Fox News’ anchor Chris Wallace wasn’t invited to trail Barack Obama on his trip abroad.
COLBERT: You see, in recent months, McCain boxed Obama into a corner by saying it was important that Obama visit Iraq. Checkmate. No way out of that one. But now Obama is cheating, by visiting Iraq. The good news is there’s so much media attention, there’s always a possibility of a huge gaffe doing irreparable damage to his campaign …
Now I was not invited on this trip. But, that’s fine. But I am not the only one who was snubbed.
DOOCY: Why are you not on Barack Obama’s airplane heading to the Middle East right now?
The Central Tabulator 