It's all about priorities, Senator McCain

Great Commercial (4.00 / 1)

That really hits home.  

So McCain says we could be in Iraq for 100 years just like we've been in Japan and Korea for fifty. The differences between Japan and Korea and Iraq.  Let me think about this.  Hmm...yup, nothing.  Anyone have any ideas?  I've been to all three.  Two tours in Korea.  Everything is the same as Iraq.  I've done two tours in Japan and about five trips there.  Wow, nothing comes to mind about the differences between Japan and Korea and Iraq.  Wait, I just thought of something.  
Religion!  Food!  Culture!  Ethnicity!  Technology!  Resources!  Geography!  That's just about everything.  
The Japanese are mostly Zen Buddhists or Shinto and there's no thousand plus year old violent past between their religious sects.  Korea?  Well, they certainly have a fundamental philosophical difference between North and South, but until the divide at the 38th parallel it was almost entirely Buddhist.  The South, however, likes progress and the North doesn't.  So is McCain offering that we can divide Iraq at the ___ parallel (help me out, what parallel would that be?) ?   Hey, that is starting to sound like the Biden-Gelb Plan.  Partitioning. Is that what McCain is actually suggesting?  I'd be for that.  Partition Iraq and withdraw our forces.  

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by: Matthew Alexander @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 11:05:34 AM CST

and one big difference... (4.00 / 1)

Perhaps it is the unrestrained violence.  Yes, the internal civil war fought concurrently with a healthy insurgency.

Just saw a news report of a wheelchair-bound suicide bomber in Samarra today.  Not many of those going off in Japan or Korea.

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by: expat_vet @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 11:07:47 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I put up a quick post at dailykos (0.00 / 0)

covering this ad based on your email.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/...

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by: TexDem @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 12:10:50 PM CST

Hey thanks for the Kos Post (0.00 / 0)

JS

Iraq War Veteran

Chairman, VoteVets.org

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by: Jon Soltz @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:20:10 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Iraq is more costly than any war except WWII (0.00 / 0)

The Times of London has come up with an estimate of $3 trillion for the total cost of our Iraq fiasco, making it the most costly American war except for World War II ($5 trillion in constant dollars).  In 2008, Iraq is going to cost us an estimated $12.5 a month.  Each soldier deployed to Iraq costs $400,000.  

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by: rmwarnick @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 12:12:29 PM CST

Great ad. N/T (0.00 / 0)

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 12:16:03 PM CST

What great timing. (4.00 / 1)

 This truly awesome ad comes out today, and today McCain has publicly stated that his positions on Iraq can lose him the election.

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio - John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can't, "then I lose. I lose," the Republican said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...

Gee, you don't say that your horrible positions on the war in Iraq and your lackluster voting records on vet and military issues could come back and bite you in the butt.

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 12:46:06 PM CST

Priority Number One: A political solution in Iraq (0.00 / 0)

I just became aware of a very important speech delivered today by the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in which he argues that a sustainable political settlement in Iraq is essential to avoiding complete failure in Afghanistan and to ensuring that the moderate majority in Pakistan is capable of being a real ally against extremism.

I know that y'all won't want to miss this - talk about connecting the dots...no one does it better!

http://biden.senate.gov/newsro...

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by: Elizabeth Miller @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 13:52:26 PM CST

Well Votevets... (0.00 / 0)

..must be doing something right.  You got Michelle Malkin to run the counter-meme. Good stuff!

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by: LT Nixon @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 14:25:05 PM CST

New Ad (0.00 / 1)

Great ad!  Happy to see that there's a concerted effort to air the sad truth about John McCain.  The people need to know what a hypocrite he has been.

I do hope that a subsequent ad will contain info and interviews with the survivors (injured) of the 1967 USS Forrestal/USS Liberty fires which were a direct result of this man's lack of responsible judgment.  This has all but been covered up by our government and Admiral Sr. McCain and John McCain.

I've also heard things about how his behavior at Annapolis violated the Military Code of Conduct several times and his daddy bailed him out.  The people need to see more on this as well.

The Truth shall prevail and the rest of this country is embracing HOPE for a reversal of the unprecedented corruption of the Bush administration.

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by: namaste @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 14:53:55 PM CST

Blatent untruth (0.00 / 0)

What is this about Mcain's lack of responsible judgement concerning the Forrestal Fire?  Fact is that it was his jet that was hit by the rocket launched from accross the deck from another plane.

Flight deck camera's bear this our, as well as the heroic effort of the flight deck chief who responded to save him.

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by: Ericus @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:01:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Namaste... (4.00 / 1)

...I would certainly never dispute Sen. McCain's military service.  That's just shameless.

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by: LT Nixon @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:27:34 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I agree. (0.00 / 0)

And will add that we as an organization will not dispute his military service, but we will hold him to bear on his positions on Iraq and his voting record.

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:29:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Trying to be informed... (0.00 / 0)

BM,
I guess I could do some tiresome Googling, but is there a comprehensive source/site that provides objective info, voting record, or general tendencies on Iraq and its vets for the major candidates (McCain, Obama)?  Just wondering.

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by: E. Redding @ Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 18:56:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I do a lot of googling. (0.00 / 0)

And also use votesmart to look up people's voting records.
http://www.votesmart.org/

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by: Brian McGough @ Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 19:46:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

False (0.00 / 0)

The guy's plane got hit by a rocket that accidentally discharged from another plane on the flight deck... What exactly could he have done to prevent that?

I have problems with Sen. McCain, but this is not one of them.

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by: dm @ Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 07:57:39 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Do some reading, namaste! (0.00 / 0)

'Sailors to the End,' by Gregory Freeman. McCain's A-4 was hit by a loose rocket that went off accidentally on the flight deck. He had nothing to do with the explosion on the Forrestal, other than the errant rocket hit his aircraft (and nearly killed him, too).

See my above posting as well.

Again, not supporting McCain, just want to get the facts straight.  

IV

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by: IrritatedVet @ Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 02:16:32 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Not impressed (0.00 / 0)

As a retired US Navy guy myself, I hold a fairly centrist view of politics.  And with my son in ROTC, I have a vested interest in our national security and our armed forcces.

First, McCain didn't say "1000" years, rather in used "100" years in a context as in relation to our continued commitment with allies around the world in maintaining troop deployments and facilities.  Just as we have bases and personel in places that our troops saw ccombat over 60 years ago, so might our presence be in Iraq and the Middle East.

Remember Iran having a secular government at one time and what happened?  The same will happen in Iraq if we act in a knee-jerk response here.

I'm not sure how much dialogue will happen on this site that is respectful - listing sites like the DailyKos etc which are not too tolerent of opposing views makes me wonder.  But I'll give it a try.

I thank Rose Forrest for her service to our country and wish her and her family the best.

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by: Ericus @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 14:54:44 PM CST

Knee Jerk (0.00 / 0)

Sadly, Bush knee jerked and jetissoned any sense of national security for us for the next 100 years by lying about WMD's and the threat to begin with, ignoring and violating UN Charter, and sacrificing our 4,000 heroes for his imperialistic lust for power and greed for oil.  Let's call a spade a spade.

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by: namaste @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 14:57:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

enough (0.00 / 0)

Your response is just as imagined.  Can we not all agree that the previous administration and democrat senators/congressmen all said that Saddam had WMD's... as well as all western government intel agencies - even the Russians?!  Stop the pick and choose, be honest.

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by: Ericus @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:04:29 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes they did (4.00 / 2)

And we did a very complete search for them.  I was part of that search in 2003-2004.  While I was there, we also overthrew the Iraqi government, captured Saddam, and did a lot of other good things for the Iraqi people.  We accomplished the mission.  Now it is time to start bringing our troops home.  We have permanent bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and other areas throughout the region, so I see no need for our continued presence in Iraq for the next hundred years.

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama

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by: Chris LeJeune @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 16:18:11 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes..... (0.00 / 0)

And along with your thoughts, perhaps the Iraqi people should realize that it's up to THEM to stand up and fix their country!  With our presence, they just stand around, waiting for us to make the next move.

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by: E. Redding @ Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 19:13:59 PM CST

[ Parent ]

1000 years. (0.00 / 0)

Sen McCain in fact did say a thousand years. It was in response to his 100 year comment.

"A thousand years. A million years. Ten million years. It depends on the arrangement we have with the Iraqi government." [Associated Press, 1/04/08]

I wasn't alive during WW2, but I have heard that there is a fundamental difference between the way we occupied the areas after World War 2 and the way we are occupying areas now.

How many bases do we have in Vietnam?

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:23:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ericus... (0.00 / 0)

...it's an honest question for political debate.  While violence has gone down, there is still an active insurgency making Iraq a combat environment and folks on their 4th/5th tour while America is at the mall.  This ensures that Iraq is "off the radar" and out of the minds of most voters and this ad is bringing this issue back to the forefront. Sen. McCain has not addressed the issue of increasing the size of the military substantially to meet his planned foreign policy agenda and seemingly favors the Rumsfield model of contracting everything out to corporations while crippling the military.  Yes, I agree Iraq is important and may require a long presence (albeit not permanent as evidenced by my post below), however our nation needs to finally realize that the country is at war.

BTW thanks for the dialogue!  It's far more beneficial to the democratic process than the comments I saw on the ad at Hot Air which mostly questioned Ms. Forrest's "military credentials".  A true sign that those commenters had a pretty weak argument.

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by: LT Nixon @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:24:46 PM CST

[ Parent ]

McCain's problems (1.33 / 3)

I've also heard that his father, Admiral McCain (CINCUSNAVIER) at the time, had one individual helicoptored out of the fires on board.  Three guesses who that individual might be??  Yep!  He had only his son taken to safety while others died.

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by: namaste @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 14:55:44 PM CST

Soucre?? (0.00 / 0)

for this "Ive also heard" line..... NYT?!

Bring out facts that have verifiable resouces and we'll talk about them.

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by: Ericus @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:07:02 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes. (0.00 / 0)

Before we go launching into all kinds of areas, lets make sure we have some sources for our words.

 

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:20:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

McCain's... (0.00 / 0)

...military credentials aren't in question here.  He served this country proudly.  What do you say we act respectful and focus on his political aspirations and agenda.

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by: LT Nixon @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:43:50 PM CST

[ Parent ]

McCain was wounded... (0.00 / 0)

...by bomb shrapnel in the Forrestal fire in 1967. After he recovered, he went immediately to work on the USS Oriskany, from which he went on his ill-fated mission later that year.

 I've read a couple books/articles on the Forrestal fire, notably 'Sailors to the End' by Gregory A. Freeman. Good read, very interesting as regards the cause, the incident, and the aftermath (and the changes it brought to Navy safety culture, esp. as regards firefighting).

 In all the reading I've done, I've seen zero evidence that McCain was given any preference in terms of medical treatment, evac, etc.

 I don't support McCain politically, but it's in our interests to make sure we've done the research before we make such accusations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...  

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by: IrritatedVet @ Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 02:08:08 AM CST

[ Parent ]

My thoughts (4.00 / 3)

on John McCain are that he is a respectable individual whose military service to our country was quite honorable. That being said, I consider his policy views on several issues, most notably Iraq to be plain. While I respect McCain as a person, I simply cannot say that he is the man for the job of POTUS at this time.

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by: FredUSMC @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 15:48:40 PM CST

Directed at all candidates? (0.00 / 0)

Shouldn't all candidates be drilled on their priorities and strategies for American success in Iraq and the GWOT? If the great Americans on either side of the aisle are to lead the nation, they need to have their polices challenged as well. The "Get Out of Iraq" mantra without a strategy hasn't earned the current congressional majority any success with the American public. Let's not short change our brothers/sisters in arms with party politics.

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by: koakahiko @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 16:20:29 PM CST

Can you elaborate? (0.00 / 0)

I think I know where you are going with this, but I want to make sure.

I'm not sure how we are shortchanging anyone.

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 16:23:11 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Clarification (4.00 / 1)

Those of us who were combat leaders (officers/ncos) definitely did not short-change our soldiers/friends. We had to adapt and overcome decades of preparing for a different kind of war that did short-changed our soldiers. Echelons of big war generals, defense contractors peddling magic bullets, and politicians securing business for their constituents (both parties) short-changed us. I personally scrounged for steel and overloaded with sand-bags soft-skinned M998s meant to travel "safe" MSRs/ASRs.

The point of my comments were that the American voters put their faith once before in congressional candidates campaigning on promises of getting out of Iraq yet provided no strategy or solution. The mantra of "out of Iraq" was louder than any strategy proposed.

How many friends did we lose for an unfinished mission?

We owe it to them to elect leaders with sound strategies not campaign slogans.

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by: koakahiko @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 20:55:40 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Unfortunately, (0.00 / 0)

the vast majority of the electorate...and the national media and blogosphere...have proven, during this election campaign, that they don't want any part of sound strategies...heck, they wouldn't know a sound strategy if a sound strategy stepped up and slapped them upside the head!

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by: Elizabeth Miller @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 21:05:26 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Good point. (0.00 / 0)

 And I agree. It is important to vote for someone with a sound strategy. But in my opinion a sound strategy has is double edged; not only should that person have a sound strategy for Iraq, but there also needs to be a strategy for Afghanistan.  We as a collective people have forgotten about Afghanistan, a just war, in order to wage an unjust war in Iraq. I don't think for a second that the people that want to harm us on our soil are not paying attention to the fact that we are not putting a large amount of forces and equipment into Afghanistan.

I also hear what you are saying about losing friends for an unfinished mission, but we did not lose friends for a perpetually unfinished mission. I did not almost lose my life so that we could keep pouring resources into a failed strategy in Iraq. And by letting Afghanistan fall by the wayside are we not forgetting about all the people whose lives were lost on 9-11?  
 I really hate to say it and this will make me unpopular, but we were soldiers(marines, seamen, airmen) and we knew that there was a chance we could die doing our jobs, and that was a good chance since we were at war. But what about the people that went to work on that September morning that didn't take an oath to put their lives on the line for their beliefs in this country? Should we forget about their ultimate sacrifice?

All deaths are tragic, both a service member and a civilian. Btu we shouldn't forget the tragic death of one or the other.

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by: Brian McGough @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 21:05:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Fortunately, (0.00 / 0)

there is a very sound strategy out there for Afghanistan and Pakistan but it can only be implemented when a political solution takes hold in Iraq.

Check this out...
http://biden.senate.gov/newsro...

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by: Elizabeth Miller @ Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 21:18:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]