McCain Al-Qaeda Flap Raises Troubling Questions

Struggling to Grasp Basics of his Signature Issue, McCain Takes a Hard Hit

For Immediate Release: March 19, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - John McCain's campaign is banking on his reputation on national security, specifically the Iraq War, to win, but now serious questions are being raised about his understanding of the issues.

On a taxpayer-funded campaign trip to the Middle East, the Republican nominee erred yesterday during a news conference in Jordan by stating that Iranians are "taking Al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back" and argued that "it's common knowledge." [New York Times, 3/19/08]

McCain's failure to grasp the most basic ethnic reality at play in the Middle East was obvious to many, with one report noting that the notion that "Iran (a Shiite country) was helping Al Qaeda (a Sunni organization)... obviously is incorrect." [Time Magazine "The Page" blog, 3/19/08]

"Unfortunately, this isn't a simple mistake that can be ignored. Under scrutiny, McCain fails to live up to his reputation," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said. "Florida can't afford four more years of the same irresponsible Bush Republican approach to the Middle East."

McCain has defined his candidacy by arguing he has the grit and tenacity to make the tough military motions. This is the latest in a string of gaffes by the Senator, who has time and again overstated the stability of Iraq, even when he himself was forced to travel the country with extraordinary military security. Ironically, this is the same John McCain who maintains that our presence in Iraq could continue for 100 years or more.

McCain Gets Iraq Facts Wrong. "Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran. He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq. Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was 'common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate.' The mistake threatened to undermine McCain's argument that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead a country at war with terrorists." [The Trail blog, WashingtonPost.com, 3/18/08, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/18/a_mccain_gaffe_in_jordan.html]