McCain: Win war in Iraq first, then bring troops home
ORLANDO -- John McCain told the nation's largest veterans group Monday that both he and Barack Obama want to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, but "the great difference is that I intend to win it first."
McCain assailed Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, for saying he still would have opposed the 2007 U.S. troop build-up in Iraq.
"Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory," McCain said.
In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Republican candidate also questioned Obama's ability to handle foreign policy challenges such as Russia's invasion of Georgia.
While the U.S. is now "winning" the Iraq war, McCain warned that "the lasting advantage of a peaceful and democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East could still be squandered by hasty withdrawal and arbitrary timelines."
As the presidential election approaches, the Arizona senator said, a lot of people "are still trying to square Sen. Obama's varying positions on the surge in Iraq."
In an effort to stemming widespread violence, President Bush ordered an additional 30,000 combat troops into Iraq in early 2007.
"First, he (Obama) opposed the surge and confidently predicted that it would fail," McCain said. "Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge."
"Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure," he said.
Obama is scheduled to address the VFW's national convention Tuesday.
"In matters of national security," McCain said, "good judgment will be at a premium in the term of the next president, as we were all reminded ten days ago by events in the nation of Georgia."
Russia's invasion threatens the nation's energy security because of the pipeline that runs through Georgia, McCain said. He also said the United States has a vested interested in protecting Georgia and the other democracies that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
McCain also told the convention he would improve veterans' health care.
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