McCain's Comments

Republican Senator John McCain just recently made some remarks regarding what he felt was potentially the administration's biggest mistake when it comes to the War in Iraq.

He said, "I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required. Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be."

In response to McCain, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino had this to say, "It is difficult and the president has said it is going to be difficult from the beginning."

No offense Mr. President or Ms. Perino, but I'm going to have to agree with McCain on this one. In fact, I'm going to go one further. Didn't Bush tell Pat Robertson that there would be no U.S. casualties in the war? Didn't members of the administration call it a piece of cake or a cakewalk? Didn't someone in the administration claim that the task would be so simple, they'd be in and out in a week? That doesn't sound like a president and administration who believed the task ahead was going to be very difficult.

McCain's right. Bush has treated this war from the get-go like a game of GI Joe. In fact, I've often times compared the president to a little kid with ADHD on speed playing GI Joe's. In the middle of a war, the president gets all geared up, puts on a drama show, and claims that the mission was accomplished. Yet, here we are, how many years later and the president now claims that we won't be sending the troops home from Iraq under his watch until the mission is accomplished. Yeah, a new mission. A new mission pops up every few weeks or so. Cheney then opened his mouth about how we were in the last throes of the war and again, that was how long ago? The U.S. casualties in the War on Terror (both Afghanistan and Iraq) have nearly equaled the number of people who died on September 11th. When things are all said and done in the Middle East, that casualty number will far exceed the number of lives lost on 9/11. Perhaps McCain's on to something. If Bush and his administration had been honest from the outset (yeah right, if that were the case, there would be no War in Iraq to begin with), maybe the people would be a bit more forgiving and supportive. I know I wouldn't be, but that's just me.

Link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060823-105632-1719r.htm