http://www.charlotte.com/news/ap_news/story/541855.html

Quote :

" McCain mistaken on Iran and al-Qaida By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU Associated Press Writer AMMAN, Jordan --Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, mistakenly said Tuesday that Iran was allowing al-Qaida fighters into the country to be trained and returned to Iraq. McCain, expressing concern about Iran's rising sway in the Mideast, said, "Al-Qaida is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran." He made the comments Tuesday at a news conference in Jordan; he made similar comments earlier to radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Iran is a predominantly Shiite Muslim country and has been at pains to close its borders to al-Qaida fighters of the rival Sunni sect. Iran has been accused by the United States of funding, training and arming Iraqi Shiite militants in their uprising against the United States. But there have been no allegations by Washington and no evidence that al-Qaida has benefited from Iranian assistance. After Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who was traveling with McCain, stepped forward to whisper in the candidate's ear, McCain said: "I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al-Qaida. Not al-Qaida. I'm sorry." McCain, who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, had just completed his eighth visit to Iraq. He was in the wartorn country on Monday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials. McCain's gaffe immediately drew criticism from the Democratic National Committee, which insisted he must not understand the challenges facing Iraq. "Not only is Senator McCain wrong on Iraq once again, but he showed he either doesn't understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. McCain also voiced similar concern that Tehran is bringing militants over the border into Iran for training before sending them back to fight U.S. troops in Iraq, and he blamed Syria for allegedly continuing to expedite a flow of foreign fighters. "We continue to be concerned about Iranian influence and assistance to Hezbollah as well as Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons," McCain said. He added that, if elected president, he would coordinate better with Europe to impose a "broad range of sanctions and punishments" on Tehran, to "convince them that their activities, particularly development of nuclear weapons, is not a beneficial goal to seek." McCain declined to comment on whether he could back an eventual decision to strike Iran if Tehran doesn't cease its nuclear activities. In response to a question about possible U.S. strikes against Tehran, McCain only said: "At the end of the day, we cannot afford having a nuclear-armed Iran." In addition, McCain noted U.S. military officials recently discovered a cache of armor-piercing bombs in Iraq, and he hinted the explosives had been provided by Iran. U.S. officials have long been saying that Iran provides explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs to, Shiite militias in Iraq, although the Iranian government denies any role. The U.S. military reported two such finds during the past week. McCain warned that any hasty pullout from Iraq would be a mistake that would favor Iran and al-Qaida. "We continue to be very concerned about the Iranian influence in Iraq and in the region," McCain said. McCain ran into trouble last year when he joked about bombing Iran, giving a campaign audience in South Carolina a rendition of the opening lyrics of the Beach Boys rock classic "Barbara Ann," calling the tune "Bomb Iran" and changing the words to "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ..." Later Tuesday, McCain received a celebrity welcome in Jerusalem, beginning a two-day visit to Israel with a stop at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. As his motorcade pulled up dozens of tourists greeted him and chanted "Mac is back," as he shook their hands and posed for photographs. During his 90-minute visit at the memorial and museum, McCain was visibly moved, his eyes welling with tears as he viewed photographs from Nazi death camps. Wearing a skullcap placed on his head by Lieberman, McCain laid a wreath in memory of the 6 million Jewish Holocaust victims and lit a memorial flame. Signing the Yad Vashem visitors' book he wrote: "I am deeply moved. Never again. John McCain." His visit to Iraq was the Arizona senator's first since emerging as the presumed Republican nominee. He was accompanied by Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., two of his top supporters in the race for president. He promised that, if elected president, he would uphold a long-term military commitment in Iraq as long as al-Qaida in Iraq is not defeated. McCain is a supporter of the 2003 invasion and President Bush's troop increase last year. "

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 4:19 PM. Reason : ]

3/18/2008 4:17:59 PM

Quote :

"U.S. officials have long been saying that Iran provides explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs to, Shiite militias in Iraq, although the Iranian government denies any role."

sounds to me like he's just going off what "U.S. officials" have been saying for awhile

3/18/2008 4:21:02 PM

Not Al-Qaida though, I think he needs to know the difference if he's going to proclaim himself as the most qualified in the realm of foreign policy

3/18/2008 4:23:02 PM

so.....you know for a fact that Lieberman is more knowledgeable on the subject or what? maybe i'm wrong but it seems like you're just looking around for something to bash McCain on as some sort of defense mechanism since you feel somehow vulnerable since all the Obama/Wright bad press is in the news

3/18/2008 4:25:31 PM

oh come on dude

3/18/2008 4:28:19 PM

come on what? if you want people to have any idea what you're talking about it might help to elaborate a little bit as to what point you're attempting to actually make

i read that story this morning (i always check charlotte.com) and i still fail to see anything other than McCain going along with what US officials have said for some time...and obviously I'd also expect Iran to deny anything

3/18/2008 4:31:11 PM

haha at the original post....what a dumbass....this is the same guy that wants to fucking be president...and will probably win...god help us

3/18/2008 4:59:14 PM

I can see how a mistaken sentence in a single speech could leave you thinking McCain didn't know what he was talking about. I mean, if you were someone that already didn't know what he was talking about, like terp. How many blackwater "soilders" are there in Iraq again? haha. Anyways.

Listen folks. This was a gaffe. When you're running for President, you're going to recorded saying about 2 billion things. Eventually, you're going to make a mistake.

For an example of another irrelevant gaffe, a couple weeks ago during the Democrat debate Obama apparently forgot that Al Qaeda is already in Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/27/mccain.obama.iraq/

McCain called him out on it, and I'm sure Obama will call McCain out on this. It's politics. But I don't think this mistake alone shows Obama to be incompetent. Instead, he's incompetent because he does not have a well articulated plan for what he wants to do in Iraq. But in this particular case, Obama just had a bad moment in front of an audience. Ditto on McCain.

If you want to argue competency, let's argue over policy proposals, not rhetoric.

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 5:36 PM. Reason : ``]

3/18/2008 5:16:17 PM

reaching

3/18/2008 5:23:33 PM

Quote :

"I can see how a mistaken sentence in a single speech could leave you thinking McCain didn't know what he was talking about."

Actually, he said it more than once - it says it right there in the article that I posted, if you ever bother to read it.

3/18/2008 5:34:31 PM

^ point still applies. This really was a relativley minor gaffe that was quickly corrected. Just like in the case of Obama. Now, if you really want to stick to how these gaffes matter, I'm sure you'll concede that Obama's flub on al Qaeda in Iraq also makes him incompotent.

3/18/2008 5:41:51 PM

neither are incompetent, but McCain obviously isn't the supreme being on the subject as he's been making himself out to be

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 5:48 PM. Reason : they're talking about it on CNN now]

3/18/2008 5:47:17 PM

Man McCain is Bush all over again, really. From the failed economics to the idiotic 'durh' moments. I once thought that if Obama didn't get the nomination that I just couldn't vote for the queen bitch becuase her character and integrity were so despicable but come to think of it, I don't know how I'd vote for grandpa seeing as I don't think he'd do a damn thing for us but give us another 4 years of Bush.

Yeah, he's a war hero but he's running in an election where he's the best and only shot the repubs have and that's rather laughable. If you'd ask the party at large that months ago they would have laughed or put their respective head in their hands at the very notion. lol.

3/18/2008 10:19:33 PM

I'll take McCain's understanding of foreign policy over Clinton's or Obama's any day.

3/18/2008 10:48:21 PM

That's because you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground.

IRAQ FOR 10,000 YEARS IF WE HAVE TO.

WE'RE IN IT TO WIN IT.

GET ER DONE

3/18/2008 10:53:16 PM

Quote :

"haha at the original post....what a dumbass....this is the same guy that wants to fucking be president...and will probably win...god help us"

...and this from a person who has made it a point to repeatedly indicate he will likely be voting for this person. Yeah, wonder how he's going to get elected?

3/18/2008 11:20:12 PM

^you've noticed DNL too.

3/18/2008 11:22:01 PM

^^^

Quote :

"I'm not an academic, actually."

LostClues

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=518685&page=4

So what sport are you training for, nutsack?

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 11:22 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2008 11:22:39 PM

Quote :

"IRAQ FOR 10,000 YEARS IF WE HAVE TO. WE'RE IN IT TO WIN IT. GET ER DONE"

How long is China going to spend trying to conquer America? You sure are being pretty hard on the US for "freeing Iraq" while just a thread or two down the page you're literally bragging about China taking over the US...good to see that hypocrisy isn't exclusive to people who aren't racist

3/18/2008 11:22:46 PM

It's not just China. Many minorities will come in to split the plunder that is America's lost greatness.

3/18/2008 11:23:55 PM

Quote :

"So what sport are you training for, nutsack?"

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 11:24 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2008 11:24:02 PM

China and India are indeed rising powers.

It remains to be seen if they can keep up the economic growth, though.

3/18/2008 11:28:22 PM

Well.

Those in glass houses and all that rot.

3/19/2008 1:34:33 AM

if obama or clinton had said this the repubs would be going nuts

3/19/2008 12:04:26 PM

iran/ alqaeda

whats the diff again??

lol

3/19/2008 1:30:43 PM

Well check this out...

Just last year, in April 2007, the U.S. military accused Iran of arming SUNNI militants fighting in Iraq (though not al Qaeda).

Quote :

"The US military has for the first time accused Iran of arming Sunni militants fighting in Iraq. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6546555.stm

Obama tried to make it sound like such a proposition was retarded. So I guess it's Obama that actually fucked up since he had no idea this was going on.

This is a point repeated yesterday by McCain's foreign policy advisder Mark Salter:

Quote :

"McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said a U.S. pullout from Iraq would allow al Qaeda to claim victory and to pretend that this would not happen is "foolish supposition." He added: "Iran, which trains Shi'ite extremists and is known to arm and equip Sunni extremists, a fact Sen. Obama is apparently unaware of, will also view our premature withdrawal as a victory." "

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1930419220080320?virtualBrandChannel=10112&pageNumber=2

PWNT!

McCain may have misspoke, but it is clearly Obama who is confused on this issue. So why isn't Obama's gaffe making headlines like McCain's? I wonder.

[Edited on March 21, 2008 at 8:00 AM. Reason : ``]

3/21/2008 7:35:37 AM

^ Yeah, and Obama wants to negotiate NAFTA with the "president" (sic) of Canada. But the adoring media didn't pounce on that blunder--damned peculiar, too, don't you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp9KpbWjT-o

3/21/2008 8:35:13 AM

b/c one of McCains main talking points is how he's so much better informed and equiped to handle the war. Usually when you brag about being an expert in a certain area your mistakes in that area are more glaring.

3/21/2008 8:37:11 AM

^ One doesn't have to be a foreign policy expert to know that Canada has a prime minister. I think that's third-grade material.

3/21/2008 8:46:44 AM

wlb,

And what is Obama supposed to be an expert in? Is your argument that Obama is being held to lower standards than McCain because he is less educated/experienced on the very topics a President is suppose to be familiar with.

That isn't saying a lot for why you want him as President.

[Edited on March 21, 2008 at 8:49 AM. Reason : ``]

3/21/2008 8:48:49 AM

^ Ha-ha! IT'S A TRAP!

3/21/2008 8:49:51 AM

Quote :

"wlb, And what is Obama supposed to be an expert in? Is your argument that Obama is being held to lower standards than McCain because he is less educated/experienced on the very topics a President is suppose to be familiar with. That isn't saying a lot for why you want him as President."

Worst Hillary supporter (read: closet conservative) on the wolf web.

3/21/2008 8:51:12 AM

^ Worst communist on TWW. Um. . .did you have a comment about Obama's blunder?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp9KpbWjT-o

No?

3/21/2008 8:56:07 AM

Hillary supporters are now closet Conservatives? Hilarious and sad all at the same time...it just goes to show how out of touch obama's supporters must be if they are going to paint Hillary and her supporters of all people as Conservatives...

3/21/2008 9:00:39 AM

Quote :

"That isn't saying a lot for why you want him as President."

lol, where did I say that? Just b/c I critize McCain, doesn't mean I'm voting for Obama....unlike most people on here I could care less about party affiliations....some of you would support satan if he was running under the banner of your particular party of choice. And I actually like McCain in just about every other area except his stance on the war/terrorism. I'm in the process of deciding if that area holds enough weight for me to not vote for him.

Quote :

"McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said a U.S. pullout from Iraq would allow al Qaeda to claim victory and to pretend that this would not happen is "foolish supposition." He added: "Iran, which trains Shi'ite extremists and is known to arm and equip Sunni extremists, a fact Sen. Obama is apparently unaware of"

damage control.

Quote :

"Is your argument that Obama is being held to lower standards than McCain because he is less educated/experienced on the very topics a President is suppose to be familiar with. "

no, it's my argument that if McCain touts that "we'll stay there for 100 years if necessary" he'd damn well better, at the very least, show that he understands the dynamics of the issue.

3/21/2008 9:48:19 AM

ahahahah I love how someone said

"it remains to be seen if they can keep economic growth."

3/21/2008 10:02:07 AM

At the current rate, I mean.

They probably can, but we'll see. For example, Japan's growth mostly petered out by the 1990s. Taiwan has also slowed a bit recently.

I certainly hope so.

3/21/2008 10:10:33 AM

Japan didn't have 1 billion people willing to work for peanuts.

3/21/2008 10:11:44 AM

They won't be willing to work for peanuts for much longer if current trends continue.

That's the nature of economic growth.

3/21/2008 10:13:53 AM

They have quite a deep pool of cheap talent.

It might be a very long time before they run out of it to the point that wages pressure upwards to US levels. This despite the increasing expenses of markets like Bangalore.

3/21/2008 10:25:17 AM