In one corner is Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a staunch supporter of the war and the war's architect, President George W. Bush. McCain called for the "surge" in U.S. troops in Iraq even before Bush did. Not only is he oppossed to withdrawing troops from Iraq before clear success is acheived, McCain has said American forces might be in Iraq for 100 years.
And in the other corner is Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), who made his consistent opposition to the war a centerpiece of his early campaign. He spoke out against the war in 2002. And Obama has pledged to start drawing down the number of U.S. troops in Iraq immediately upon taking office as president. He says all combat troops will be home in 16 months.
Voters are, therefore, presented with a stark choice. In some significant ways, the 2008 presidential race will be an American referendum on the Iraq War.
The McCain Position
Senator McCain, "believes it is strategically and morally essential for the United States to support the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people. He strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before that has occurred."McCain's Web statement on the war does include criticism of the Bush Administration's execution of the war. "At the end of 2006, four years of a badly conceived military strategy that concentrated American troops on large bases brought us near to the point of no return," he says. McCain supports the "surge" and the counterinsurgency methods of General David Petraeus. McCain says Iraq's political order is "evolving in positive and hopeful ways" but more prgoress is needed. McCain also calls for greater international investment in Iraq.
Regarding regional stability and the role of Iran and Syria in Iraq, McCain says, "The answer is not unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships from a position of weakness. The answer is for the international community to apply real pressure to Syria and Iran to change their behavior. The United States must also bolster its regional military posture to make clear to Iran our determination to protect our forces and deter Iranian intervention."
The Obama Position
"The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance," according to Senator Obama's Web statement on Iraq.Obama's position on the "surge" and the progress being made by the Iraqi government are quite the opposite of McCain's. "The goal of the surge was to create space for Iraq's political leaders to reach an agreement to end Iraq's civil war. At great cost, our troops have helped reduce violence in some areas of Iraq, but even those reductions do not get us below the unsustainable levels of violence of mid-2006. Moreover, Iraq's political leaders have made no progress in resolving the political differences at the heart of their civil war," says the candidate's statement.
On regional stability: "Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors — including Iran and Syria."
More on McCain and the Iraq War
- Is The Iraq War Now A Boon To McCain?, from Deutsche Welle (German)
- There Is One Candidate Who's Been Consistently Right About The War, And It Isn't The Democrat, from columnist Jonah Goldberg
- Cheney and McCain Plan to "Win" The Iraq War (Again), from The Blue Voice
More on Obama And The Iraq War
- Obama Says Iraq War Weakens Israel, from The Swamp
- Obama 101: Ending the Iraq War, from Deborah White, About Guide to U.S. Liberal Politics
- Obama And 'The War is Lost' Brigade Need to Think Again, from The Australian