McCain Offers His Iraq Timetable
WSJ.COM POLITICS
In Campaign 2008
Laura Meckler reports from Columbus, Ohio on the presidential race.
After months of ridiculing opponents who want to set a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq, today John McCain is setting his own timetable.
In remarks prepared for delivery, he says he envisions that "most" of the troops now serving will be home by January 2013, when his first term would end.
Laying out a list of things he hopes to achieve as president, the Republican candidate begins with Iraq:
?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,? he says in remarks prepared for delivery.
He says that he anticipates that by then, the war will have been won and Iraq will have a functioning democracy, though it will still be ?suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension.?
By January 2013, he says, he anticipates that the U.S. will maintain a military presence there ?but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role.?
McCain has repeatedly attacked Democrats for promising a withdrawal of troops. Last month, in a speech to members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, he said:
?I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected. To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility. It is a failure of leadership.? |
