Not!!!
Once again McCain has opened his mouth and proved that he is far from being an expert on foreign policy.
Today on the "Good Morning America" show, McCain downplayed conditions in Afghanistan. He then went on to say
We have a lot of work to do. It's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border.
In case you don't know how the borders are drawn in that region of the world, here's a map I got off of Crooks and Liars.
Looks to me like the Iraq Pakistan border has a very large cushion named Iran.
This isn't the first time McCain has opened his mouth and shown that he doesn't know what he is talking about. During a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said
The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don't care what his objections are to it.
On July 14, 2008, he said
I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech's agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern.
Three months before he said that he told Don Imus that he would "work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries."
If he's a foreign relations expert, McCain should know that Czechoslovakia was split into two countries January 1, 1993. Neither is called Czechoslovakia. Instead their names are the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
At a news conference in Jordan on March 18, 2008, McCain said
Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran.
Here's the problem with that statement: Iran's population is mostly Shiite Muslim. Al Qaeda is Sunni Muslim. Iran views The Sunni's in Al Qaeda as a threat to their country and have worked very hard to close their borders to Al Qaeda fighters. Iran has also accused the United State of funding, training and arming Iraqi Shiite militants.
If McCain or anyone else wants to claim that they are an expert on foreign policy, then they can't keep making stupid mistakes like these. They definitely shouldn't be making them over and over and over again (I'm talking to John "Czechoslovakia is still a country" McCain).
If you want me to believe that you're an expert on anything, you need to actually know what you're talking about. John McCain just continues to prove that he is no expert on foreign policy.
Law of Politics says:
I did not watch the show, but he could have been talking about Iran as the situation, they are trying to build nuclear weapons. I have nothing for the Czechoslovakia comment. I bet he knew the country split, but just made a mistake. What about Obama and the troop surge? Are we seeing his Change now? Obama changing his mind or stance on Iraq to imitate what John McCain has been saying the entire time is a more pressing issue. Obama agrees with the troop surge so much now, he himself is visiting Iraq.
7/21/2008, 9:29 pmjan says:
You gotta wonder if they even listen to themselves.
7/21/2008, 10:46 pmshea says:
Well, just shows you that he is a senile old white man
7/22/2008, 2:10 amLaura says:
Gosh LoP, you must really love listening to the people on FOX News and/or other right wing talking heads. Going to Iraq doesn't prove that he is 100% behind the surge like you imply. The United States happens to be in a war/occupation in Iraq. Anyone running for president would head there to visit the area.
If you were to go to his campaign web site and read what his opinion is on Iraq, you would realize that his position is more along the lines of yes the surge has improved security at the cost of 1,000 American lives and the Iraqi government still hasn't stepped up to the plate. He also feels the improved security in Iraq has come at the expense of an over-extended military (both in troops and equipment) and a resurgence of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
That sure doesn't sound like a resounding vote of approval for the surge.
BTW, the Iraqi government want the United States to start pulling out of Iraq. While Obama he's been in Iraq he's talked to Al-Maliki and Al-Maliki seems to share Obama's view on pulling out US troops.
Really, LoP, try to read/listen to someone other than FOX/Limbaugh/Malkin sometime. Then you might stop writing stupid sentences like "Obama agrees with the troop surge so much now, he himself is visiting Iraq." You also might not include a link that reiterates the implication that Iraq was behind 9/11. 17 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. None were from Iraq.
jay says:
I wonder if he knew what language they speak.
7/22/2008, 10:45 amSerge says:
LOL! You could make shows with your politicians starring based just on their ignorance. Well, probably you do… yes you must have. What can I say… you've got Bush, now if you want some more entertainment just vote for this McCain guy.
7/22/2008, 12:22 pmLaura says:
Jan,
No, they don't listen to themselves. If they did they wouldn't say half the crap they say.
Shea,
And isn't that a comforting thought? A senile man with his finger on the bomb. shudder
Jay,
Probably not since the language they speak depends on which country they are in. The people in the Czech Republic and Slovakia speak different languages.
Serge,
I'd be happy to be entertainment free instead of voting for McCain.
Serge says:
Totally understand you. No more entertainment then….
7/23/2008, 3:03 pm