Re: VoteVets.org memo on John McCaFuck in

Middle Class Warrior wrote:
> TO:     Interested Parties
> FROM:     VoteVets.org
> RE:     Senator McCain’s Real Record on the War in Iraq
> DATE:     February 8, 2008
>
> Senator John McCain presents himself as a maverick and a critic of the
> Iraq war. But a close read of his record indicates that his position on
> the Iraq war has consistently matched President George W. Bush’s.
>
> Before The War:
>
> McCain used many of the same arguments as Donald Rumsfeld, Vice
> President Cheney and President Bush when advocating going to war with Iraq.
>
>     * McCain co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization that gave
> President George W. Bush the green light – and a blank check - for going
> to war with Iraq. [SJ Res 46, 10/3/02]
>
>     * McCain argued Saddam was “a threat of the first order.” Senator
> McCain said that a policy of containing Iraq to blunt its weapons of
> mass destruction program is "unsustainable, ineffective, unworkable and
> dangerous."  McCain: "I believe Iraq is a threat of the first order, and
> only a change of regime will make Iraq a state that does not threaten us
> and others, and where liberated people assume the rights and
> responsibilities of freedom.” [Speech to the Center for Strategic &
> International Studies, 2/13/03]
>
>     * McCain echoed Bush and Cheney’s rationale for going to war.
> McCain:  “It’s going to send the message throughout the Middle East that
> democracy can take hold in the Middle East.” [Fox, Hannity & Colmes,
> 2/21/03]
>
>     * McCain echoed Bush and Cheney’s talking points that the U.S. would
> only be in Iraq for a short time.  McCain: “It’s clear that the end is
> very much in sight. … It won’t be long…it’ll be a fairly short period of
> time.” [ABC, 4/9/03]
>
>     * McCain said winning the war would be “easy.” “I know that as
> successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will
> be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.”
> [CNN, 9/24/02]
>
> During The War:
>
> Senator McCain praised Donald Rumsfeld as late as May 12, 2004, after
> the Abu Ghraib scandal.
>
>     * Asked if Donald Rumsfeld can continue to be an effective secretary
> of defense, McCain:  “Yes, today I do and I believe he's done a fine
> job. He's an honorable man.” [Hannity and Colmes, 5/12/04]
>
> Senator McCain repeatedly supported President Bush on the Iraq War –
> voting with him in the Senate, defending his actions and publicly
> praising his leadership.
>
>     * McCain maintains the war was a good idea.
>
> At the 2004 Republican National Convention, McCain, focusing on the war
> in Iraq, said that while weapons of mass destruction were not found,
> Saddam once had them and “he would have acquired them again.” McCain
> said the mission in Iraq “gave hope to people long oppressed” and it was
> “necessary, achievable and noble.”  McCain: “For his determination to
> undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just
> end, President Bush
>
> Senator McCain: “The war, the invasion was not a mistake. [Meet the
> Press, 1/6/08]
>
> Asked if the war was a good idea worth the price in blood and treasure,
> McCain: “It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons
> of mass destruction, and it's clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring
> them.” [Republican Debate, 1/24/08]
>
>     * McCain defended Bush’s rationale for war.  Asked if he thought the
> president exaggerated the case for war, McCain said, “I don’t think so.”
> [Fox News, 7/31/03]
>
>     * McCain has been President Bush’s most ardent Senate supporter on
> Iraq.  According to Michael Shank of the Foreign Policy in Focus think
> tank, McCain was at times Bush’s “most solid support in the Senate” on
> Iraq. [Foreign Policy in Focus, 1/15/08]
>
>     * McCain voted against holding Bush accountable for his actions in
> the war.  McCain opposed the creation of an independent commission to
> investigate the development and use of intelligence leading up to the
> war in Iraq. [S. Amdt. 1275 to H.R. 2658, Vote # 284, 7/16/03]
>
>     * McCain praised Bush’s leadership on the war.  McCain: “I think the
> president has led with great clarity and I think he’s done a great job
> leading the country…” [MSNBC, Hardball, 4/23/03]
>
> Senator McCain has constantly moved the goal posts of progress for the
> war – repeatedly saying it would be over soon.
>
>     * January 2003:  “But the point is that, one, we will win this
> conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
>
>     * March 2003: “I believe that this conflict is still going to be
> relatively short.” [NBC, Meet the Press, 3/30/03]
>
>     * June 2004: “The terrorists know that this is a very critical
> time.”  [CNN, 6/23/04]
>
>     * December 2005: "Overall, I think a year from now, we will have a
> fair amount of progress [in Iraq] if we stay the course.”  [The Hill,
> 12/8/05]
>
>     * November 2006:  “We’re either going to lose this thing or win this
> thing within the next several months." [NBC, Meet the Press, 11/12/06]
>
> Senator McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military
> that is having a devastating impact on our troops.
>
>     * McCain voted against requiring mandatory minimum downtime between
> tours of duty for troops serving in Iraq. [S. Amdt.. 2909 to S Amdt.
> 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 341, 9/19/07;  S Amdt. 2012 to S Amdt. 2011 to HR
> 1585, Vote #241, 7/11/07]
>
>     * McCain was one of only 13 senators to vote against adding $430
> million for inpatient and outpatient care for veterans. [S Amdt. 3642 to
> HR 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06]
>
>     * Senator McCain has consistently opposed any plan to withdraw
> troops from Iraq
>
>           o Senator McCain repeatedly voted against a timetable for
> withdrawing troops from Iraq. [S. Amdt. 3876 to S.Amdt. 3874 to H.R.
> 2764, Vote #438, 12/18/07; S.Amdt.. 3875 to S.Amdt.. 3874 to H.R. 2764,
> Vote # 437, 12/18/07; S.Amdt.3164 to H.R. 3222, Vote # 362, 10/3/07;
> S.Amdt. 2898 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585, Vote #346, 9/21/07;  S.Amdt.
> 2924 to S.Amdt.. 2011 to H.R.1585, Vote #345, 9/21/07;  S.Amdt.2 087 to
> S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585, Vote #252, 7/18/07; S.Amdt. 643 to H.R. 1591,
> Vote #116, 3/27/07; S.Amdt. 4320 to S. 2766, Vote #182, 6/22/06; S.Amdt.
> 4442 to S. 2766, Vote #181, 6/22/06; S.Amdt.. 2519 to S.1042, Vote #
> 322, 11/15/05]
>
> Senator McCain has consistently demonized Americans who want to find a
> responsible way to remove troops from Iraq so that we can take the fight
> to al Qaeda.
>
>     * McCain: "I believe to set a date for withdrawal is to set a date
> for surrender.” [Charlotte Observer, 9/16/07]
>
>     * McCain called proponents of a congressional resolution opposing
> the troop surge in Iraq intellectually dishonest.  [Associated Press.
> 2/4/07]
>
> The Future:
>
> Senator McCain now says he sees no end to the presence of U.S. troops in
> Iraq.
>
>     * McCain: "[M]ake it a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be
> fine with me." [Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting, 1/3/08]
>
>     * McCain on how long troops may remain in Iraq: “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]
>

The boy was at the bottom of his class in the Navel Academy, can the
U.S. afford another President who is not the sharpest knife in the drawer?

Shit, no!
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