McCain points to ‘measurable progress’ in Iraq

Attempting to restart his flagging presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain delivered a dark and detailed portrait of the situation in Iraq as he assailed Democratic opponents of the war in an address at the Virginia Military Institute on Wednesday.

McCain continued to maintain that the military has made “measurable progress” in securing Baghdad and fighting Al Qaeda in Al Anbar province, an assertion that war opponents have ridiculed. At the same time, the Arizona Republican said, “To deny the difficulties and uncertainties ahead is an egregious disservice to the public.”

McCain stood before nine flags and a portrait of VMI cadets fighting on the Confederate side at the Battle of New Market in 1864. Jackson Hall, where he spoke, was filled with cadets sitting stiffly in blue uniforms with black trim.

McCain, a former Navy pilot who was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, has long supported the war in Iraq. He also has been one of the harshest critics of how it has been waged.

On Wednesday, he tried to fully explain why he supports the strategy of President Bush and Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, to boost troop levels and quell civil unrest.

“Will this nation’s elected leaders make the politically hard but strategically vital decision to give Gen. Petraeus our full support and do what is necessary to succeed in Iraq?” McCain asked. “Or will we decide to take advantage of the public’s frustration, accept defeat and hope that, whatever the cost to our security, the politics of defeat will work out better for us than our opponents? For my part, I would rather lose a campaign than a war.”

He criticized Democrats in Congress as reckless, accusing them of not heeding the possible consequences of failure.

“Before I left Iraq, I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission,” said McCain, who had just returned from his fifth visit there. “Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering.”

McCain’s remarks drew immediate criticism from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), even though McCain praised him for urging Democrats to quickly pass a new war spending bill.

Obama said in a statement: “Progress in Iraq cannot be measured by the same ideological fantasies that got us into this war. It must be measured by the reality of the facts on the ground, and today those sobering facts tell us to change our strategy and bring a responsible end to this war.”

McCain argued that a defeat in Iraq would have wide-ranging consequences on the Middle East, global stability and the security of the United States.

“The war on terror, the war for the future of the Middle East and the struggle for the soul of Islam -- of which the war in Iraq constitutes a key element -- are bound together,” McCain said. “Progress in one requires progress in all.”