McCain: Pulling Out of Iraq Would Spell 'Chaos'

March 28, 2007 — -- In a vote that surprised even the Democrats who won it, the U.S. Senate voted for the first time to begin the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., forcefully took to the Senate floor along with other Republicans against the withdrawal provision.

"This legislation is a plan for failure," he said.

On "Good Morning America," McCain added that the legislation would spell chaos for Iraq and, in turn, the United States.

"I know what will happen. The area will deteriorate into chaos and we will see them follow us home," he said.

He said that many parts of Iraq were calmer than they had been in the past, which showed that the United States was making progress.

"There are neighborhoods that are calm -- the Anbar province, the Sheiks are cooperating with us. Large parts of the country are under control," he said. "The Iraqi military are fighting side by side with us. Is it tough? Is it difficult? Of course, but significant progress is being made and that will become more clear."

On Tuesday, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., supported McCain, saying the legislation would impede progress in Iraq.

"It would be the bugle of retreat. It would be echoed and repeated from every minaret throughout Iraq," he said on the Senate floor.

Democrats led the push for the withdrawal.

"This war is not worth the spilling of another drop of blood," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said to fellow senators.

Democrats won the vote, 50-48. The difference this week, as opposed to earlier in the month when a similar withdrawal provision failed, was two senators who had changed their positions on a timeline for troop withdrawal.

One of them was McCain's friend Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a Vietnam veteran who had endorsed McCain's presidential campaign seven years ago. Today Hagel is considering his own run for the presidency.

"We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam," Hagel said.