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McCain Out of Touch on Iraq

Columnist Ellen Goodman has a must-read article out on John McCain and his selective amnesia on the Iraq War:

In "McCain's Iraq War Stance Rooted in Another Era," she basically argues that McCain is reliving the end of the Vietnam War with his perpetual call for a nebulous years-away victory in Iraq and that he frames the Iraq War post-surge, chronologically, neglecting the very reason that we went into Iraq. McCain's convoluted logic is that, since the surge was "successful," the war is therefore a success; he neglects to question the origins of the war, let alone the price that the war is having on U.S. troop readiness and other matters.

I've been noting McCain's selective amnesia on Iraq for quite some time, from his claim that we'd be greeted as liberators there to his statement, about a year ago, that walking in Iraq was like walking in a peaceful American market -- this despite him being heavily guarded and recent bombings in the very area he was touring.

Something is wrong with Sen. McCain's understanding of the Iraq War; certainly, it seems clear that his policy here has been coopted by a neoconservative doctrine of endless war, but he is also confusing Shiite with Sunni, Al Queda with insurgents, the wars aims vs. the actual problems on the ground.

Labels: Ellen Goodman, Iraq, McCain

posted by Michael Martin @ 8:41 AM