WASHINGTON — The two major presidential rivals sharpened their long-standing dispute over the Iraq war Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama calling it a costly distraction that must end while Republican Sen. John McCain insisted it is a conflict the United States has to win.
“Iraq is not going to be a perfect place, and we don’t have unlimited resources to try and make it one,” Obama said in a speech in which he also said the United States must shift its focus to defeating the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
McCain said Obama “will tell you we can’t win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backward.”
“I know how to win wars,” McCain said. “And if I’m elected president, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.”
While the two men agreed on the importance of prevailing in Afghanistan, the dispute veered in a new direction about the tribal areas of next-door Pakistan, where terrorist Osama bin Laden and his men are thought to be hiding.
McCain accused Obama of “trying to sound tough” by speaking publicly of taking unilateral action against those blamed for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. McCain also said he would capture bin Laden.
Undeterred, Obama said, “If Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like bin Laden if we have them in our sights.”
In his remarks, Obama pushed back against his rival’s recent comments that the Bush administration’s 18-month increase in troop strength in Iraq has been a success that warrants a change in position on the war.
“This argument misconstrues what is necessary to succeed in Iraq and stubbornly ignores the facts of the broader strategic picture that we face,” Obama said.
“In the 18 months since the surge began, the strain on our military has increased, our troops and their families have borne an enormous burden, and American taxpayers have spent another $200 billion in Iraq,” he said.
Obama restated his vow to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of becoming president. That, he said, would free the resources needed to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In reply, McCain belittled his younger rival, who he said was speaking about the war before traveling overseas and talking to Gen. David Petraeus, the overall commander on the ground. Obama has planned his first trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In my experience, fact-finding missions usually work best the other way around: First you assess the facts on the ground, then you present a new strategy,” McCain said.
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