McCain's criticism of Obama

The daily Der Tagesspiegel has published an essay by the Republican candidate for the US presidency John McCain in which he criticises the attitude of his Democratic opponent Barack Obama to the Iraq war. The New York Times decided not to publish the commentary. "Today ... violence has fallen by up to 80% to the lowest levels in four years; ... Progress has been due primarily to an increase in the number of troops and a change in their strategy. ...The success of the surge has not changed Senator Obama's determination to pull out all of our combat troops. ... No one favors a permanent U.S. presence, as Senator Obama charges. Any draw-downs must be based on a realistic assessment of conditions on the ground, not on an artificial timetable crafted for domestic political reasons. This is the crux of my disagreement with Senator Obama. ... The danger is that extremists supported by Al Qaeda and Iran could stage a comeback, as they have in the past when we've had too few troops in Iraq. ... I find it ironic that he is emulating the worst mistake of the Bush administration by waving the "Mission Accomplished" banner prematurely. But if we don't win the war, our enemies will."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » U.S., » Iraq

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, July 23, 2008