March 19, 2008 – On his “Gee, don’t I look like a Commander-in-Chief” tour in Iraq, presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain said something that made him look anything but. He showed that he’s either a liar, or woefully misinformed, or getting senile. He warned to reporters that Iran is sponsoring al Qaeda terrorists in their fight against the U.S. When pressed, the crusty old Repug added that it was “common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.” As anyone with an ounce of Middle-east/Arab history knows, Iran is a Shiite country and al Qaeda is Sunni. And the two hate each other. So, his trusty war-mongering sidekick Sen. Joe Lieberman, at his side, leaned in, whispered this sweet nothing into his ear, and McCain said whoops…I made a boo-boo. “I’m sorry…the Iranians are training extremists, not al Qaeda,” he said.
So what’s the real shocker here, that McCain was trying to lie to Americans about who we’re really fighting over there? Duh! He, Lieberman and Bush have been doing that for years. That McCain was trying to distort the truth should come as a surprise to no one. His entire campaign is built on the Iraq war and his support of the surge. And his main strategy is fear; keeping Americans afraid so that support for this debacle continues. The other day he said “if we pull out the troops, al Qaeda wins.” The Repug neocons have been morphing Iraq and Iran into al Qaeda since the 9-11 attacks.
But what this should demonstrate to voters is that McCain’s integrity is lacking. That he’s a liar. or, if we giove him the benefit of the doubt and he’s not intentionally deceiving Americans, then his understanding of of one of the most complexes ethnic struggles in history, in a violent part of the world, renders him unprepared to be president.