Redstate

By Rod Patrick Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Are there inconsistencies surrounding the Internet about McCain's Iraq Policy? Why suddenly it seems that Barack Obama's viewpoint is the same with that of Prime Minister Maliki?

*MediaMatters* reported the following:

NPR's Kelemen reported McCain's response to Maliki's call for withdrawal timetable, but not McCain's 2004 assertion that "it's obvious" the U.S. "would have to leave" if Iraq requested it.
Summary: NPR's Michele Kelemen reported that Sen. John McCain "suggested in an interview with MSNBC that the Iraqi calls for a troop withdrawal date may be driven by politics in Baghdad," and quoted McCain as saying, "The Iraqis have made it very clear, including the meetings I had with the president and foreign minister of Iraq, that it's based on conditions on the ground. [...] I've always said we will come home with honor and with victory and not through a set timetable." But Kelemen did not note that in 2004, when asked what the United States would do if the "Iraqi government asks us to leave," McCain responded, "I think it's obvious that we would have to leave." The details are in here:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090005?f=h_top

What struck me is the following "pseudo-conversation" being spinned by the mediamatters reporter:

KELEMAN: The Bush administration and Republican presidential hopeful John McCain have argued that the so-called "surge" has worked, but the progress is fragile so the U.S. can't rush out. McCain suggested in an interview with MSNBC that the Iraqi calls for a troop withdrawal date may be driven by politics in Baghdad, where Prime Minister Maliki is facing a lot of skepticism about the status of forces negotiations.
McCAIN [audio clip]: The Iraqis have made it very clear, including the meetings I had with the president and foreign minister of Iraq, that it's based on conditions on the ground. [...] I've always said we we'll come home with honor and with victory and not through a set timetable.
KELEMAN: Democrat Barack Obama, on the other hand, said it was encouraging to him to hear the Iraqis talk about the need to set out a time frame for the U.S. to pull out.
OBAMA [audio clip]: I think that Prime Minister Maliki's statement is consistent with my view about how a withdrawal should proceed and how a status of force agreement should not be structured without congressional input, and should not be rushed. *

The audioclips by McCain and Obama are used here to look like a normal conversation happening in the same place at the same time, to Obama's advantage.

Here is how Pittsburg Tribune reported the interview:

The Arizona senator brushed aside a comment by Iraq's national security adviser that his country will not accept any security deal with the United States unless it contains specific dates for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.
"I met recently with their foreign minister and president. Both of them share my views completely. Americans will withdraw. It will be dictated by events on the ground, by the success we have made, and that success has been significant but it's still fragile," McCain said.
"They still agree that if you set an artificial date for withdrawal, the way that Senator Obama wanted to do, then we will have a resurgence of the fighting and the various factions within Iraq, Iranian influence will increase and we still risk a wider war.
"The benefits of success are reduced Iranian influence, a functioning -- not great, but functioning -- Iraqi government and military, and a stable U.S. ally in the region."
Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_576687....

Part of the transcript is given below:

Trib: Senator, with Iraqi leaders now calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals ...
McCain: Actually the Iraqis are not. The Iraqis widely reported as short a time ago as a couple of weeks ago that there would be no status of forces agreement, and Maliki would say that, and it got headlines, and of course it turned out not to be true. I met recently with the ... foreign minister and the president, both of them share my views completely. Americans will withdraw. It will be dictated by events on the ground, by the success that we've made and that success has been significant. but it's still fragile. ... Al-Qaida and other Shiite militias, other former Bathists, those elements have been knocked back on their heels (but) they are not defeated. So ... despite what you may see or hear, the facts are that this will be dictated, and since we are succeeding we will be able to withdraw and it will be dictated by the facts on the ground. And they still agree that if you set an artificial date for withdrawal, the way that Sen. Obama wanted to do, then we will have a resurgence of the fighting and the various factions within Iraq, Iranian influence will increase and we still risk a wider war. The benefits of success are reduced Iranian influence, a functioning, not great, but functioning Iraqi government and military, and a stable U.S. ally in the region. The security arrangements will be worked out between two sovereign countries. So as I say, I just met with the president of Iraq and with the foreign minister and both of them, and I know that (Gen.) Petraeus and (Ambassador) Crocker are saying the same things, and Maliki will too. So let me point out to you again, Sen. Obama said the surge would not work, he opposed the surge, up until very recently he said that it completely failed. Now maybe that's because he hadn't been there in 900 days, maybe that's because he never asked for a single sit-down meeting with Gen. Petraeus. Never asked for one, nor received one. But Sen. Obama is now going to Iraq as he has announced and I'll be very interested in seeing what he has to say ... upon his return.
Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_576734....

I smell something fishy about all these spins being played by the MSM.