McCain Camp: Obama 'Wrong' on Iraq

July 20, 2008— -- The campaign of presidential nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain drew on comments by the Pentagon's top military commander today to attack Sen. Barack Obama's plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq in 16 months.

The Pentagon's top military commander, Adm. Mike Mullen, said today that a fixed timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal could jeopardize the progress that has been made in Iraq.

"This, right now, doesn't speak to either timelines or timetables, based on my understanding of where we are," Mullen said in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

He added, "Based on my time in and out of Iraq in recent months, I think the conditions-based assessments are the way to go, and they're very solid. We're making progress and we can move forward, accordingly based on those conditions."

Obama's withdrawal plan was back in the news Friday when the German magazine Der Spiegel quoted Iraqi Ptrime Minister Nouri al-Maliki endorsing the timetable.

But McCain's campaign said today that Obama's plan "is a strategy for defeat."

"Barack Obama is wrong to advocate withdrawal at any cost, just as he was wrong to oppose the surge that has put victory within reach," McCain foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann said in a statement. "It is a strategy for defeat, and it is the only strategy Barack Obama has ever supported."

A top McCain surrogate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Obama's foreign trip, which is scheduled to include a visit to Iraq, is only possible because of McCain's strong support for a troop surge in the country last year.

"Barack Obama couldn't go to Iraq today, it wouldn't be safe," Lieberman, said on "Fox News Sunday."

The Der Spiegel quotes in question seemed a clear endorsement of Obama's Iraq exit strategy. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has committed to removing combat troops from Iraq within the first 16 months of his presidency.

Of that plan, Der Spiegel quotes Maliki as saying, "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Maliki is also quoted saying he thinks that U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible."

Iraq's National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told ABC News that Der Spiegel did not accurately convey Maliki's comments and that there was "a translation problem" in the interview.

Rubaie said that Iraq is ready for "a time horizon" for U.S. troop withdrawal, a term adopted by the Bush White House. He added that any drawdown of forces needs to be based on security conditions -- a flat-out rejection of the Obama plan.

Obama, meanwhile, shifted his rhetoric today to the war in Afghanistan, which he visited over the weekend as part of his world tour.

In an interview with CBS News, Obama called the situation in Afghanistan "precarious and urgent," and said that the country should be the "central focus" in the battle against terrorism. As he has done before, Obama called for an additional one or two brigades to be sent to the war-torn country.