Anybody that knows me knows that I am generally p-o’d at John McCain for whatever cause he happens to be championing. Whether it’s stifling free speech with campaign finance "reform" or seemingly protecting the "rights" of terrorists, I regard him as more harm than good for many of the issues important to me. Many crusades upon which he embarks appear designed for publicity and to distance himself from policies of the Bush administration.
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That being said, given the poor polling numbers that continue to dog President Bush, there may be- and it’s a big "may"- some "method to his madness." If large numbers of voters continue to allow themselves to be misled by the President’s detractors (main stream media, Democrats, etc.), the only way for any Republican to be successful in ’08 may be by being the "anti-Bush." Do I like this possibilty? No. In a perfect world, more people would wake up, see the soundness of the present administration’s overall strategy, and choose a candidate running a campaign based upon a continuation.
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The world is not perfect.
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McCain isn’t always wrong, either. He scored 2 positive points with me this week. First, he guest blogged at Captain’s Quarters (which, now that I think of it, earns him another point) on the North Korea situation. He did this nation a great service by reiterating the folly of the ’94 Clinton administration deal with the communist regime, helping people to recognize that mistake so that we don’t repeat it.
The worst thing we could do is accede to North Korea’s demand for bilateral talks. When has rewarding North Korea’s bad behavior ever gotten us anything more than worse behavior?.I would remind Senator Hillary Clinton and other Democrats critical of Bush Administration policies that the framework agreement her husband’s administration negotiated was a failure. The Koreans received millions in energy assistance. They diverted millions in food assistance to their military. And what did they do? They secretly enriched uranium..Prior to the agreement, every single time the Clinton Administration warned the Koreans not to do something — not to kick out the IAEA inspectors, not to remove the fuel rods from their reactor — they did it. And they were rewarded every single time by the Clinton Administration with further talks. We had a carrots and no sticks policy that only encouraged bad behavior. When one carrot didn’t work, we offered another..This isn’t just about North Korea. Iran is watching this test of the Council’s will, and our decisions will surely influence their response to demands that they cease their nuclear program. Now, we must, at long last, stop reinforcing failure with failure.
Amen! This is "straight talk" of the kind that I only wish was more common. What’s not to understand? What is surprising about this from McCain is that he followed it up with another correct statement on an important issue- the Iraqi front in the war.
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In a press release issued today, Senator McCain stated his support for the US Army’s long-range plan for Iraq, keeping high troop levels for a period of 10 years.
Washington D.C. ¬– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today released the following statement in support of General Peter J. Schoomaker’s announcement on the Army’s long-term plans for Iraq:.
“Today, Army Chief of Staff, General Peter J. Schoomaker announced that the Army has plans to keep the current level of soldiers in Iraq through 2010. Currently there are 141,000 troops in Iraq, including 120,000 soldiers. Earlier this year we heard reports that the Army would begin reducing the number of troops in Iraq to 100,000 by the end of the year. I support General Schoomaker’s comments and believe we must increase troop strength if we are to win this war,” McCain said..
“The announcement also reveals how imperative it is to begin immediately to increase the end strength of the Army and Marine Corps. We are overstretched at a time of widespread and very serious challenges. Congress has authorized increases in recent years that the Defense Department has not acted upon with the urgency Congress intended, and events so clearly warrant..
“Senior officers from National Guard units and Reserve Centers across the Nation report the signs of strain on National Guardsmen and Reservists as they prepare for additional deployments to Iraq. Soldiers and Marines are reporting for their third tours in Iraq. We must begin now to increase substantially the troop strength of the Army and Marine Corps by at least 100,000.”
This is an important matter that all leaders of our country must support. If we are at war, one that might expand exponentially given its world-wide nature and scope, we must plan on increasing our military whether we like it or not.
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McCain, being the perceived contrarian, might be the perfect messenger for this need. Another good result of this effort by McCain is that while discussing the need for additional troops, he reminds us that there IS a strategy for the war. There IS a timetable. It’s just very long. Exactly what Bush has been saying. Stay the course.
