McCain Quotes on the Middle East
He Has Branded His Candidacy with Tough Talk on War and Terrorism
Intentionally or not, U.S. Senator John McCain has branded his presidential candidacy with tough words on war, terrorism and the Middle East.
He has stamped the Middle East brand on his campaign through both the Republican primaries and his general election drive against Senator Barack Obama. He has stuck with the message in commercials, website ads, interviews, debates and talk shows.
The brand was a natural for him, flowing smoothly from his reputation as a war hero. It played well with his Republican base and probably locked in the support of President Bush. It has stayed with him even as the economy replaced Iraq as the campaign’s primary issue. It has not always favored him, but it has identified him.
McCain sounded the Iraq theme in announcing his candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination on the David Letterman show in early 2007.
"Wasted Most Precious Treasure"
"Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be," he said. "We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives."
He later apologized, saying he should have used the word "sacrificed" instead of "wasted." Obama had made the same mistake and issued the same apology earlier in his campaign.
Here are some of McCain’s more notable quotes on the Middle East:
"I would prefer not to take troops out of Afghanistan..…It's a very serious situation there. But the good news is we have allies who are in there with us who are committed and are also making similar sacrifices. (On "Meet the Press" Jan. 21, 2007)
"My greatest fear is the Iranians acquire a nuclear weapon and give it to a terrorist organization. And there is a real threat of them doing that." (March 3, 2007 GOP debate)
"Follow Him to the Gates of Hell"
"Osama bin Laden is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans. He's now orchestrating other attacks on the United States of America. We will do whatever is necessary. We will track him down. We will capture him. We will bring him to justice, and I will follow him to the gates of hell. (In a GOP debate May 3, 2007)
"We have got to achieve energy independence, oil independence in this nation. I will make it a Manhattan Project, and we will in five years become oil independent." (In a December 2007 debate)
"It's beyond Congress' authority to micromanage wars. Congress has the power of the purse and the power to declare wars; the President is responsible for leading the armed forces as Commander in Chief." (In response to Boston Globe questionnaire Dec. 20, 2007)
"Do not yield. Do not flinch."
"Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight. We’re Americans. We’re Americans, and we’ll never surrender. They will." (In a March 2008 campaign commercial)
In a New Hampshire town hall meeting in the first week of June 2008, McCain was questioned regarding President Bush’s remarks about keeping troops in Iraq for 50 years. According to The New Yorker, McCain responded:
"Make it a hundred...That would be fine with me."
When asked on NBC June 11, 2008 when American troops would return from Iraq, he said: "That's not too important. What's important is the casualties."
His firm stance against Iraq, Libya and North Korea goes far back. In a GOP debate on Feb. 15, 2000 he said "I’d institute a policy that I call ‘rogue state rollback.’ I would arm, train, equip, both from without and from within, forces that would eventually overthrow the governments and install free and democratically elected governments."
References:
- On the issues.org
- Political Humor, by Daniel Kurtzman
- Richard Cohen, Washington Post, March 20, 2007
- Fox Sunday News
