McCain: Use Iraq strategies in Afghanistan
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - July 15, 2008 "Sen. Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without
losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards," McCain told
a town hall meeting. "It is precisely the success of the surge in
Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan."
"I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will
turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around
the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory," he
said.
Moments earlier, his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama said in
a speech in Washington the U.S. must end the war in Iraq and that
Afghanistan, by contrast, is "a war that we have to win."
McCain laid out a blueprint for intensified military efforts in
Afghanistan, where nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 14 injured in
a militant attack Sunday, the U.S. military's highest death toll
there in three years.
"The status quo is not acceptable. Security in Afghanistan has
deteriorated, and our enemies are on the offensive," said McCain.
"From the moment the next president walks into the Oval Office, he
will face critical decisions and crucial decisions about
Afghanistan."
He said three more brigades should be sent to Afghanistan, and
said that he would appoint a White House czar for the Afghanistan
war.
President George Bush has already appointed a so-called "war
czar" for both Iraq and Afghanistan, but McCain said he wanted
someone reporting directly to him with direct responsibility for
Afghanistan. Obama said Monday he would send at least two more
brigades to Afghanistan.
"I will get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice," McCain
said of the al-Qaida leader the U.S. has pursued futilely since the
group's Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.