Free Republic

With her brother home from deployment, Meghan McCain on the horrors soldiers face there and her frustration at the president should he—as expected—send less than the 40,000 troops General Stanley McChrystal has requested. The first time I watched my brother Jimmy deploy to Iraq, it was in a parking lot at Camp Pendleton. The whole experience was a lot quieter and more low-key than I had expected. It was literally a bunch of families waiting around, beginning at around five in the morning, for Greyhound buses to arrive. During most of that time, all anyone did was watch more soldiers...

Senator John McCain made clear that he and the Republican Party should send the message that they support whatever President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan ends up being, rather than send messages that the U.S. is "waffling" or "dithering." In response to former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent remarks, in which he said, "signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries," McCain said, "I wouldn't use that language." Speaking Wednesday evening while accepting an award from the conservative Center for Security Policy, Cheney said, "The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in...

Nation-building in Afghanistan is a tough proposition for the United States since it is a "medieval" country, Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) told a local editorial board on Monday afternoon. The freshman lawmaker said that the a rebuilding project similar to what the U.S. undertook in Iraq would unlikely to achieve success in Afghanistan because the latter is "medieval" and the former is a "20th century country." Roe added that winning "the war" there would take "decades." He emphasized that the government needs to re-evaluate the mission there and define victory in the conflict against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents. "I believe...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee responded Sunday to recent criticism from former White House hopeful Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the committee. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, has lately suggested that the proper course for the United States to pursue in Afghanistan is to beef up the country’s own army and police forces before planning on sending in any additional American troops.

Facing fire from his own party over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, President Obama is getting cover from an unlikely source: Republicans. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia are among a growing faction of congressional Republicans speaking up for the Democratic president as he faces questions of whether to escalate the U.S. troop presence in an increasingly bloody conflict. Mr. Cantor, who has helped lead the fight in the House GOP caucus against much of Mr. Obama's domestic agenda, voiced support Friday for Mr. Obama's willingness to carry the fight to the Taliban...

PHOENIX -- Sen. John McCain will hold a central Valley town hall Wednesday evening to discuss proposed health care reforms with Arizonans. McCain held a town hall Tuesday in Sun City, where most of the 1,400-plus attendees were retirees concerned about changes in Medicare and their insurance coverage. Wednesday's meeting may shape up to be a bit different because when McCain arrives, he will be greeted by anti-war protesters. Protest group End the War said it will be waiting outside the town hall with signs calling for the U.S.'s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Group spokesman Mitch Rubin said that McCain has...

KABUL (AP) — Sen. John McCain called Tuesday for more American troops in Afghanistan, saying that doubling the number of Marines in one southern region could lead to "significantly more success." The former Republican presidential candidate, along with other members of a visiting congressional delegation, also said that Afghanistan's elections this week were a milestone event, but that the U.S. was not backing one candidate over another. The group's two-day visit included meeting with Marines in southern Helmand province, where U.S. and Afghan forces are staging a major offensive aimed at clearing out Taliban militants ahead of Thursday's vote.

(snip) Mr. Obama drew some of his most enthusiastic applause when he hammered away at wasteful military spending, declaring, “It’s simple enough. Cut the waste. Save taxpayer dollars. Support the troops.” And he also took pains to praise a hometown politician and former rival — Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who was traveling overseas and did not attend the event on Monday. Mr. Obama called him “a great veteran, a great Arizonan and a great American who has shown the courage to stand and fight this waste.” (snip)

While much of the country’s attention is on other issues, a serious situation is developing in Pakistan that threatens to plunge us into another fruitless and bloody war. It is very frustrating to see that many who were so vehemently against the wars of the last administration have suddenly lost interest in foreign policy simply because we were promised change. Those still paying attention know that nothing could be further from the truth. Very little has changed, except perhaps rhetoric, but what does that matter when the bombing missions are only getting deadlier? Rather than drawing down violent military interventions...