McCain: Life shaped judgment on use of force

WASHINGTON -- On Sept. 28, 1983, a freshman Republican took to the House floor and did something unexpected: He opposed President Ronald Reagan's plan to keep U.S. troops in war-torn Lebanon.

"I am prepared to accept the consequences of our withdrawal," said Rep. John McCain of Arizona.

That speech helped make McCain a national political figure. It also marked the first time he publicly wrestled with a question that has vexed many presidents. When and how should American troops ever be committed to battle?

A quarter-century in the House of Representatives and Senate yields a mixed answer in McCain's case. He has backed the use of force many times, including Grenada, Panama, the Balkans and the Persian Gulf (twice). The presumptive Republican presidential nominee opposed military missions in Lebanon, Somalia and Haiti, arguing that the national interest did not justify them.

"My judgment is shaped by a total of my learning and study and experiences for all my adult life," McCain said in an interview this month with USA TODAY.

Foreign policy will be McCain's theme today as he addresses the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. The speech is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET.

He spent 51/2 years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war, but the 71-year-old senator from Arizona calls "experience in combat" only one of his qualifications for commander in chief. He also cites his education at the U.S. Naval Academy, reading, consulting with experts and years in Congress.

It's that résumé he plans to emphasize in the race this fall against the Democratic nominee, either Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York or Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Any use of American troops, McCain said in the interview, must involve a threat to national security, promote U.S. interests and values and have a well-defined mission with a good chance of success. "You look at all the factors," he said.

Military force, he said, should be used only after diplomacy has failed. "We always resist it," he said, "to the point where it has to be the ultimate last resort before you send young Americans into harm's way."