DEBATE FACT CHECK: IGNORING AFGHANISTAN

October 02, 2008

The Facts: McCain Has Ignored The Threat In Afghanistan. Obama Recognizes Afghanistan Is The Central Front In The War On Terror And Has Been Calling For Increased Troop Levels.

FACT: MCCAIN HAS IGNORED THE THREAT IN AFGHANISTAN AND THINKS IRAQ IS THE CENTRAL FRONT IN THE WAR ON TERROR

· McCain: Iraq Is The Central Front In The War On Terror. “I agreed with General Petraeus when he said Iraq was the central battleground in the war and the struggle against al Qaeda. And he said that repeatedly.” [NBC, “Today,” 7/21/08]

· McCain: “We May Muddle Through In Afghanistan.” During a November 2003 appearance before the Council on Foreign Relations, John McCain was asked about his views on Afghanistan. McCain noted that there had been a rise in al Qaeda activity along the border with Pakistan, and said that he was concerned about the increase in U.S. casualties. However, he added, “But I believe that if Karzai can make the progress that he is making, that -- in the long term, we may muddle through in Afghanistan.” [Council on Foreign Relations , 11/5/03;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wazv45RYj60&eurl=http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/17/mccain-03-afghanistan/

FACT: OBAMA HAS BEEN CALLING FOR MORE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN FAR LONGER THAN MCCAIN

· Major Garrett: McCain “Was Behind Obama” On The Call For More Troops In Afghanistan And “Lost Ground When He Offered Three Different Explanations About Where The Additional Combat Forces Would Come From.” “McCain this week backed Obama’s call for more combat troops in Afghanistan. He had resisted that for months because he didn’t want to siphon troops from Iraq. McCain said Afghanistan needed more troops than Obama (McCain says three brigades and Obama says two brigades) AND a new military strategy — a re-think, as it were, comparable to that which led to the new counter-insurgency approach in Iraq. On this, many analysts agree, but no new strategy can be implemented without more troops and McCain was behind Obama on that call. McCain also lost ground when he offered three different explanations about where the additional combat forces would come from (the U.S., then NATO, then maybe the U.S. and NATO).” [Fox News, 7/19/08 ]

· David Gergen: “In The Last Two Days We've Seen Twice Now The Bush Administration Reverse Itself And Take Positions That Are Much Closer To Obama’s,” Added “The Greater Danger To Our Troops Right Now Is In Afghanistan. That’s What Obama’s Been Arguing All Along.” David Gergen: “For the last few months, John McCain has had the upper hand in the arguments about foreign policy, as one of the chief architects of a surge that Obama voted against and then it seemed to work. And yet in the last two days we've seen twice now the Bush administration reverse itself and take positions that are much closer to Obama’s. Last night we talked about the fact that suddenly the Bush administration had reversed course and was going to begin talking directly to Iran this weekend, and now tonight we're talking about them reversing course and saying we must send more troops into Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is becoming in many ways at least as dangerous as Iraq. You know, last -- in June, there were virtually the same number of American troops who died in Afghanistan as in Iraq, and yet in Iraq we have five times as many troops. So the danger, the greater danger to our troops right now is in Afghanistan. That’s what Obama’s been arguing all along.” [Anderson Cooper, CNN, 7/16/08]

· Christian Science Monitor: McCain “Has Resisted Calls For More Troops In Afghanistan.” “McCain has resisted calls for more troops in Afghanistan and has rejected criticism that the Iraq war is detracting from efforts to secure Afghanistan. He labeled Barack Obama ‘naïve’ for saying he'd strike terrorist targets in Pakistan with or without the cooperation of President Pervez Musharraf. … Aides to the Arizona senator said Wednesday that he continued to view success in Iraq as the best chance for victory in the global war on terror. ‘As on many things, Senator Obama is not listening to our commanders, and Senator McCain is,’ says Kori Schake, a senior policy adviser to McCain. ‘General David Petraeus believes Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. Al Qaeda has even said it is.’ … Ms. Schake's comments came about two hours after Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said additional troops were needed in Afghanistan but that too many were tied down in Iraq to send more.” [Christian Science Monitor, 7/7/08]

· 2004: McCain Said, “We Have Sufficient Troops” In Both Afghanistan And Iraq. In an appearance on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked McCain, “As you know, the critics argue that there's a finite number of U.S. soldiers, finite number of special operations forces, Arabic-speaking personnel, and that you either use them in Iraq or Afghanistan but there's probably not enough to do a thorough job in both places.” McCain responded, “I think we have sufficient troops to do the job in both places. It's very difficult but I believe we can.” [CNN, Wolf Blitzer Reports, 4/1/04]