McCain Spins Surge

02 April 2007 |permalink | email article

Vietnam war hero John McCain, now a presidential candidate, is a desperate hawk running out of time. He’s trying to convince a majority of dubious Americans that the U.S.-Iraqi crackdown in Baghdad is working.

The senator, heading a Republican congressional delegation to Iraq on Sunday, predictably criticized the media for not giving Americans a “full picture” about the drop in execution-style sectarian killings, new security posts in the city and Sunni tribal efforts against al-Qaeda. Here’s the real picture:

On the same day that his heavily guarded delegation made a visit to a Baghdad market two top Sunni officials narrowly escaped assassination as they passed through one of the city’s more restive neighborhoods.

Also Sunday, 20 bullet-riddled bodies were found, most in Baghdad, were found, apparent victims of death squads controlled by Shiite militias.

McCain responded testily to a question about remarks he had made last week that it was safe to walk some Baghdad streets - presumably not requiring armed guards like his delegation had on their shopping tour.

Mr. Optimism responded that “things are better and there are some encouraging signs,” adding that the mission “would be a long, difficult struggle.”

No thinking voter is going to buy such spin as a reason to stay much longer in Iraq.

The Associated Press reported from Baghdad on Sunday that according to figures complied Saturday the U.S. military death toll in March, the first full month of the security crackdown, was nearly twice that of the Iraqi army. American and Iraqi officials had said the Iraqi army was to take the lead role in stopping violence in the capital, and in rebellious Anbar province.

What McCain, who’s lost his groove, should ask is what happened to W.’s pledge that as “the Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down.”

Since the war began in March 2003, 3,246 U.S. service members have died in Iraq.

 

 

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