McCain: U.S. not winning in Iraq

UPI ^ | August 20 2006

[jmc1969]

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and he still thinks more troops are needed on the ground.

McCain, a possible GOP presidential candidate in 2008, appeared Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

Asked whether the United States was winning the war, McCain said, "I don't think so, but I'm not sure that it's turned into a civil war ... I think it's been well documented now that we didn't have enough (troops) there from the beginning, that we allowed the looting, that we did not have control, particularly ... (in areas such as) the Sunni Triangle, which led to us paying a very heavy price."

McCain said U.S. troops must be able to deal with the insurgency, particularly Shiite militias.

He reaffirmed his stand that U.S. troops should not withdraw. "I want to emphasize that we cannot lose this," McCain said. "It will cause chaos in Iraq and in the region, and ... we must prevail."

[tobyhill]

If more Iraqi troops and police are getting trained and taking on their own internal security then we are winning. Everyone who is calling this a civil war has no clue. This is an insurgency based on foreign influences and weapons which negates the term,"civil war". This is not unlike other wars that have occurred through the 20th century that ends up with Democracy eventually wearing out an insurgency caused by a power vacuum.

[R.W.Ratikal]

The U. S. has won in Iraq in the sense that we removed Saddam, restored freedom to the Iraqi people, helped set up a Constitutional government and helped to rebuild the country. That's winning.

There is nothing more to win. By keeping troops in occupation we provide battlefield targets for every Arab with an AK-47 and an even bigger target for politicians in Congress.

We should secure the Iraqi oilfields and operate them under a U. S. protectorate. We should then withdraw our troops in a way that protects them as they come home.

Iran is another problem. My guess is that Iran will do nothing that would risk their only source of export dollars, their oil flow.

Iran is a non-industrial nation. There are more cars in Rh ode Island than in Iran. Why do they need nuclear energy if they are sitting on the worlds 4th largest oil reserve?

No Virginia. Iran wants nukes to "Wipe Israel off the face of the Earth."

[Gritty]

[kabar]

I don't like McCain, but he is obviously right.

BS. Let's review what has happened since we entered Iraq in March 2003: The Baathist Iraqi government was deposed, Saddam jailed and on trial, and his sons dead. This was the same government that invaded two of its neighbors, was on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, and used WMD on the Kurds and Iranians. Iraq no longer poses such a danger to its neighbors nor do we have to continue to enforce the no-fly zones, which cost us $8-$12 billion a year with no end in sight.

We have had three democatic elections, which elected a unified government and approved a constitution. We have trained over 200,000 police and military. We have eliminated the Oil for Food Program, which was funneling billions into Saddam's coffers.

Iraqi security forces are fighting and dying for their country at a rate twice ours with more than 5100 killed. Iraqi oil production is at pre-war levels, three-quarters of Iraq gets twice as much electricity today as they did before the war, and the country’s gross domestic product rose to almost $90 billion in 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available), more than double the output for 2003, and its real growth rate, as estimated by the IMF, was 52.3 per cent. In that same period, exports increased by more than $3 billion, while the inflation rate fell to 25.4 percent, down from 70 percent in 2002. The unemployment rate was halved, from 60 percent to 30 percent.

The Real Iraq

A General Fed Up With The MSM - Jed Babbin

I believe we are winning.

[DTogo]

I disagree. The current strategy of US forces providing training for the Iraqis is good as they are learning and doing the hard work of rounding up the bad guys while most clashes and deaths are amongst Iraqi factions/civilians. FReeper SandRat posts great updates on many of the small victories you never hear about in the news.

Rather than secure their oilfields and operate them under a protectorate, lending more credence to the "blood for oil" critics, better the US go gangbusters becoming energy indpendent at home with more drilling, nukes, renewables, conservation, etc..

Most problems in Iraq are media driven/fabricated, and not countered by the White House, whose worst failure in Iraq has been PR at home. IMHO

[Flora McDonald]

Thank you. I would never have guessed Human Intelligence being slightly lacking in it myself (never thought to google).

I think what Vn_survivor_67-68 wrote in post #11 makes a lot of sense.

[BibChr]

Oh my gosh, he is such an idiot!

If he'd just become a Dem -- it might be the end of them!

Dan

[justshutupandtakeit]

Yada yada yada, there is no chance that the American people are going to turn into genocidal maniacs in spite of your encouragement. Your raving and foam-flecked diatribes will just have to echo uselessly in the insane asylum. You have been committed I hope?

[Arm_Bears]

Yes--And I enjoyed every minute of it.

[longtermmemmory]

McCain is believing his DNC talking points.

McCain has "inside the beltway" disease.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

"I think what Vn_survivor_67-68 wrote in post #11 makes a lot of sense."

Thank you. And you may also thank the Church Komiteh for taking the giant leap that began the tearing down of our HUMINT capabilities. Part of the continuum was Klintons gal (Jamie Gorelick) could have allowed 911 to be prevented were it not for her conjured chinese firewall of separating "intelligence" from "criminal".....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=church+committee

[marajade]

Broken record. This is why this man will never be President.

[youthgonewild]

I have a special message to all Iowans: DON'T VOTE FOR THIS MAN IN THE CAUCUS!