Monday, August 20, 2007

McCain vs. Hillary   [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From AP :

Republican Sen. John McCain, seeking the GOP nomination, said withdrawing from Iraq would be a historic mistake far worse than previous U.S. missteps in Iraq.

Clinton and McCain spoke to hundreds of members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which is holding its annual convention in Kansas City.

McCain, a former Vietnam War prisoner of war, received a warmer reception _ and louder applause during his remarks.

Clinton said the Iraqi government still must take responsibility for itself and its people.

''I do not think the Iraqis are ready to do what they have to do for themselves yet,'' she said. ''I think it is unacceptable for our troops to be caught in the crossfire of a sectarian civil war while the Iraqi government is on vacation.''

Clinton acknowledged that new tactics have brought some success against insurgents, particularly in Iraq's al-Anbar province.

''It's working. We're just years too late in changing our tactics,'' she said. ''We can't ever let that happen again. We can't be fighting the last war. We have to keep preparing to fight the new war.''

McCain said he understands that Americans are ''sick and tired'' of the war, which he said hasn't gone well.

Still, he said Petraeus and other military leaders deserve Americans' patience. He said leaving Iraq would empower al-Qaida and Iran and unleash a ''full-scale civil war'' in Iraq.

He drew applause when he said, ''As long as we have a chance to succeed, we must try to succeed.''

After his remarks, he said: ''We're starting to succeed, and I think we're seeing some shift in public opinion.''

08/20 02:20 PMShare