John McCain: Military Expert

Sen. McCain has been getting a lot of criticism for his hardcore, pro-war, pro-occupation stance. At a news event on Monday, McCain fired back at the majority of Americans, Iraqis, and global citizens these naive realitymongers. “Anyone who worries about how long we’re in Iraq does not understand the military and does not understand war,” he said.



Apparently, cheering on our Iraq policy while never explaining how we're going to get the resources (manpower, $$$, international and domestic goodwill) to continue this mess indefinitely-- until the magical day arrives when all their problems are solved-- is a very serious position.

McCain goes on to cite the old trope that we still have countless troops in Korea and Germany and that Iraq should be seen as no different. Ignoring even that the troop presences in many of those other countries is silly upon closer inspection, it should be noted that we didn't start the wars there and we are not engaged in ongoing conflict there. In Iraq, we are, and will always be as long as we stay. Matthew Yglesias sees a greater problem with this rhetoric-

"McCain even goes so far as to directly compare his vision of Iraq to the current situation in Kuwait, where in exchange for basing rights and oil we help prop up an unaccountable and corrupt dictatorship. Fear that this is what we're aiming for in Iraq is precisely why many Iraqis are fighting so hard against our troops, and our habit of acting this way in other Gulf states is a major driving force of anti-American sentiment throughout the Muslim world. The Bush administration has at least had the good sense to pursue this agenda quietly and in secret, but hot-head McCain can't keep his mouth shut to avoid gaffes and can't stop digging now that he realizes he's in a hole."

I'd add that to the extent to which this is a 'gaffe' depends on perception. That fact that McCain is given such latitude on military matters (by the press, by the public) because of his Vietnam experience, despite having some truly frightening positions now, is why only bloggers and other grumps are mentioning this. I'll be very curious to see how this issue is handled in a general election debate.

Either way, a reader of Andrew Sullivan's adds this little gotcha-

"Senator McCain, why don't we still have troops in Vietnam?"

Yes, this would definitely make a good, but hyperbole-filled, subject for a debate.

[PS- His last sentence in the video is another reminder of how un-serious his position on the war is. Apparently, we can never leave Iraq because if we do... al-Qaeda (which one?) will attempt to spin it their own way. This deadly outcome is what our troops must continue to die for to prevent.]