McCain: Clinton Wants to Wave White Flag in Iraq
EmailABC News’ Bret Hovell Reports: Senator John McCain ramped up his rhetoric against Senator Hillary Clinton’s position on the Iraq war Thursday, saying the New York Democrat and rival for the Democratic presidential nomination wants to “wave the white flag” in Iraq.
“Incredibly Senator Clinton decided that she wants to surrender, she wants to raise a white flag, she wants to set a date of immediate withdrawal from Iraq after we’ve been winning,” the Arizona Republican told the crowd. “My friends, I will not let that happen as president of the United States of America. I will not let that happen.”
For McCain to attack Clinton on the war is nothing new. He peppers his frequent comments about Iraq with references to Clinton’s positions. The rhetoric involving “raising the white flag,” however, is new, even though it does not mark an overall change in tone for McCain’s campaign.
But does McCain’s rhetoric match the reality of Senator Clinton’s position? Clinton has said that if elected, she would begin withdrawing troops in the first 60 days she is in office. But her position does not include setting a timetable for complete withdrawal of American troops.
McCain’s remarks imply something more dramatic would happen in a Clinton presidency.
“When she says that she wants to set an immediate date for withdrawal we put at risk everything that’s being sacrificed, all the service and all the success,” McCain said, speaking with reporters after the town hall meeting.
“If Senator Clinton has her way then Al Qaeda will trumpet to the world that they’ve defeated the United States of America.”
Clinton’s spokesman Jay Carson said the two colleagues simply disagree on the issue.
“Senator McCain says it would be fine with him if our troops were in Iraq for 100 years,” Carson said. “Senator Clinton wants to end the war and will bring our troops home quickly and responsibly. That’s the best way to defend our nation and protect our national security interests.”
McCain refers to Clinton often on the stump, usually in front of reliably Republican audiences where hers is not the most popular name. He has long said that a general election campaign against Clinton would be respectful, and based on issues of substance, particularly the Iraq war.
“I look forward to the debate with Senator Clinton that issue,” McCain said Thursday. “Because Americans don’t want to throw away the hard-earned gains we have made.”
ABC News’s Eloise Harper David Chalian contributed to this report.
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McCAIN is too old to run our country. with all due respect. I know he is a WAR HERO and we admire him for that service but that should not be a PASS to the WHITE HOUSE. we are sick of WARS, our troops DYING. and he wants to stay in IRAQ. this is BUSH thinking. His old MILITARY thinking can omly concentrate on winning with FORCE. i’m sure he will have some DEMENTIA like all of us seniors. no one escapes that
Posted by: connie | January 24, 2008, 6:15 pm 6:15 pm
John W. BUSH… would like your vote this fall. Vote for BUSH’s 3rd term. Vote for John. Uhh, NO thanks!
Posted by: ugh! | January 24, 2008, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
McCain knows politics, economy, health, and education more than other candidates. I shall give him A+.
Posted by: Paul | January 24, 2008, 7:31 pm 7:31 pm
Besides Iraq, there isn’t much difference between McCain and Clinton. Both of them stand for big government and fiscal irresponsibility. McCain needs to stop playing the soldier card. His current comments on Iraq directly contradict what he said before the war, and yet he has the nerve to blame the American people for believing his pre-war statements.
Posted by: Matt | January 24, 2008, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm
McCain not only has war experience, but he highlights the fact that the war in Iraq has the highest re-enlistment rate for soldiers than any other war…hmm…does it sound like the troops want Hillary to bring them home?? I don’t think so…The media is too busy bashing than to report anything positive going on in the world.
Besides, I think McCain has proven that being 71 doesn’t foreshadow him kicking the bucket anytime soon. He is feisty, determined, experienced, loyal, and he is NOT Bush’s mini me. He beats to a whole different drum, and I believe will communicate to the world that won’t embarrass us.
Posted by: Danielle Leftwich | January 24, 2008, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
Can McCain be a bigger idiot lately? We’ve had 7 years of presidential warmongering, and he seems to think that continuing the failed policy of massive deficit spending and military adventurism will get him into the white house.
Learn from history McCain. The last nation that did massive deficit spending on its military and put troops all over the world was the Soviet Union under Breznev. By the time Gorbachev took power it was already too late, the USSR was an economic basket case.
(You Ronald Reagan lovers take note, the collapse had nothing to do with that bumbling fool).
Posted by: Rick Cain | January 25, 2008, 12:58 am 12:58 am
McCain is the essence of what big lazy government is (much like many of the candidates). In Michigan he was touting new jobs, he voted for NAFTA, for GATT, for CAFTA and against the repeal of subsidies given to companies who move out the USA. He simply lies, like the others, but what really galvanized me against him was when he stood in Baghdad with an armored vest on and surrounded by 50 plus armed soldiers and tried to convince us that Baghdad was perfectly safe! R U kidding? He might as well as have called us all stupid……well it didn’t work then and it won’t work now!
Posted by: zanman87 | January 25, 2008, 1:06 am 1:06 am
Big Brother is watching this…you radicals need to be more cautious in your statements. This is serious stuff I assure you!
Posted by: Skip | January 25, 2008, 9:38 am 9:38 am