McCain Gaffes on Surge

***UPDATED BELOW***

In his zeal to show how well the surge has worked in Iraq and to trip up Barack Obama by wagging his finger in disgust to Obama's opposition of the surge last year, John McCain screwed up the timeline on when the Sunni sheiks turned against Al-Qaeda in Anbar province, referred to as the "Anbar Awakening." Whether this was intentional or not to give the surge more credence remains to be seen. But facts are facts, and they are becoming fewer and far between in the McCain campaign.

McCain: "...Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history."

Actual history will prove otherwise, and McCain knows the actual history, or is he getting confused again?

... Spencer Ackerman and Ilan Goldenberg have reported, the record firmly establishes the opposite: instead of being caused by the surge, the key signs of the Anbar Awakening occurred not only before that strategy was implemented, but before it was ever conceived.

...The fact remains, however, that the military official cited by McCain, then-Colonel Sean MacFarland, described the Anbar Awakening in September 2006 -- four months before the "surge" was even announced -- noting that tribal leaders were "stepping forward and cooperating with the Iraqi security forces against Al Qaeda." Moreover, a military review written by MacFarland notes that his unit actually left Anbar before most of the surge troops arrived; his success in the region came between June 2006 and February 2007.

...Especially notable is that McCain himself was not always confused as to the start date of the Awakening, and whether or not it was caused by the surge. Fresh off one of his much-touted trips to Iraq, McCain delivered remarks to the conservative American Enterprise Institute on January 5, 2007. Alongside fellow Senator Joe Lieberman, McCain specifically advocated for the newly proposed surge, and cited the already-in-progress turning of Sunni sheiks as a reason to send more troops.

(H/T Seth Colter Walls, HuffPo)


UPDATE (7/24/08 9:20am): It's all semantics according to McCain. The surge was a combination of events including the "Anbar awakening" even though the surge was announced in January 2007 and the Anbar awakening began happening in September 2006.

But if that's really the case, why did CBS decide to cut and paste another answer to the question posed by intrepid anchor Katie Couric? Were they trying to cover McCain's decrepit ass as he stuck his foot in his mouth again? CBS has since put the full transcript and complete video online. Here's a side by side video comparison from the Jed Report.



And yet, the GOP and wingnuts proclaim that Barack Obama is the media darling while McCain gets a bum rap. And yes, I'm taking a shot at Couric, who'll let a bumbling fool like McCain get away with an answer like that, probably because she doesn't know any better and doesn't know the history either, while she belabored the surge question with Obama and overall asked accusatory questions of Obama while asking McCain softball questions about... Obama!

Take a look at these -

Questions asked of Obama:

- You talk about a residual force remaining in Iraq, but you've been hesitant to really give a number … to people. You haven't been specific... Why can't you be more specific as to what you envision?

- Before the surge, as you know, Senator, there were 80 to 100 U.S. casualties a month, the country was rife with sectarian violence, and you raised a lot of eyebrows on this trip saying even knowing what you know now, you still would not have supported the surge. People may be scratching their heads and saying, "Why?"

- ...do you not give the surge any credit for reducing violence in Iraq?

- But talking microcosmically, did the surge, the addition of 30,000 additional troops ... help the situation in Iraq?

- ...I really don't mean to belabor this, Senator, because I'm really, I'm trying … to figure out your position. Do you think the level of security in Iraq... would exist today without the surge?

- If you believe, Senator, Afghanistan is, in fact, the central front in the war on terror, why was this your first trip there? And why didn't you hold a single hearing as chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the fighting force there?

(Senator Obama is the chair of the European subcommittee, Katie. Nice try.)

- You reportedly chaff when your foreign policy expertise is questioned. If foreign policy is not your weakest area of expertise, what is?

Are you fucking kidding?

Now compare them to these -

Questions asked of McCain:

- Senator McCain, Sen. Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?

- Sen. Obama also told me, Sen. McCain, that the money spent on those additional troops, on the surge, might have been more effective had it gone to Afghanistan or even to a better energy policy in the United States. What's your response?

- Sen. Obama describes Afghanistan as the central front on the war on terror. That is where, after all, Senator, 9/11 was plotted. And now the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan seems to be a hot bed of al Qaeda activity. Why do you believe Iraq is the central front in the war on terror?

- Do you agree with Sen. Obama's contention that up to three additional brigades should be deployed to Afghanistan?

- Sen. McCain, you sound very frustrated with Sen. Obama's perspective.

- What is your biggest fear about bringing troops home too soon, Senator?

- Finally, Senator, your campaign released a video today complaining about what you call the media's love affair with Sen. Obama. (LAUGHTER) Clearly you believe you're getting unfair coverage. Why do you think that's the case?

The kicker to all of this are the headlines used on the CBS website for each interview.
For Obama's, it's "Obama: Surge Doesn't Meet Long-Term Goals."
For McCain's, it's "McCain: 'We Will Come Home In Victory'."

Give me a fucking break.


(H/T The Jed Report)

UPDATE II (7/24/08, 3:18pm):