By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist
John McCain's speech in Ohio today has a disconcerting "Mission Accomplished" echo.
“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom,’’ the Republican almost-nominee said at the Columbus Convention Center. “The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension."
I don't hear many people talk about "winning" the Iraq War anymore. It's about extracting ourselves from a situation we never should have gotten into, with as little damage as possible to ourselves and the region.
McCain looked into a crystal ball that has himself in the White House four years from now, the war won and the country experiencing "robust economic growth." (Here's the news story.)
A reporter suggested that McCain might be handing out tickets to a "magic carpet ride."
Not so, the candidate said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with fantasy, I think it has everything to do with setting goals and achieving.’’
I appreciate that roll-up-the-sleeves approach as much as the next person. But I think Alladin just signed on with the McCain campaign.







McCain:
“And I believe that the success will be fairly easy” and “There's no doubt in my mind that... we will be welcomed as liberators.” [CNN, Larry King Live, 9/24/02. MSNBC, Hardball, 3/24/03]
“I think we could go in with much smaller numbers than we had to do in the past... I don't believe it's going to be nearly the size and scope that it was in 1991.” [Face the Nation, 9/15/02]
“There's not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shias. So I think they can probably get along.” [MSNBC Hardball, 4/23/03]
When McCain was asked “at what point will America be able to say the war was won?” He responded, “...it’s clear that the end is, is, is very much in sight.” [ABC, “Good Morning America,” 4/9/03]
“Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.” [The Hill, 12/8/05 (Exactly one year before violence in Iraq peaked)]
McDENIAL