JERUSALEM — Senator John McCain’s trip overseas was supposed to highlight his foreign policy acumen, and his supporters hoped that it would showcase him as a statesman, allowing him to meet with world leaders as the Democrats squabble.
But all did not go according to plan on Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, when Mr. McCain, fresh from a visit to Iraq, misidentified some of the key players in the Iraq war.
Mr. McCain said several times during his visit to Jordan – during a news conference and a radio interview — that he was concerned that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States believes that Iran, a Shiite country, has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq, but not Al Qaeda, which is a Sunni insurgent group.
“We continue to be concerned about Iranian taking al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back,’’ Mr. McCain said at the news conference. Asked about that statement, Mr. McCain said: “Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.”
It was not until he got a whispered correction from Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, who was traveling with Mr. McCain on the trip, which is a Congressional delegation, that Mr. McCain corrected himself.
“I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not Al Qaeda,” he said
...Mr. McCain made similar comments about Iran training Al Qaeda on Monday in an interview with the Hugh Hewitt Show, a radio program he called into from Amman. “As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they’re moving back into Iraq,’’ he said, ...
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