John McCain: War is Great

Days after Republican John McCain proved he doesn't actually know what's going on in Iraq, McCain said Thursday that the Iraq war is going well and the large problems there stem from an early mishandling after its initial success.

McCain spoke after a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which coincided with the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"The problem with Iraq, in my view, is that it was mishandled after the initial success," said McCain, who visited Iraq earlier this week.

McCain claimed the troop "surge" was working, and he said it is important to see the U.S. strategy in Iraq "through to success" because the work there is not over.

Democrats pounced on McCain's comment about U.S. concern that Iran, a Shiite country, has been "taking al-Qaida into Iran, training them and sending them back" to Iraq, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The United States believes that Iran has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq -- but not al-Qaida, a Sunni insurgent group.

McCain made several references to Iran training al-Qaida operatives until he was corrected by Sen. Joe Lieberman traveling with McCain as part of the delegation.

"I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaida," said McCain.

"(He) showed he either doesn't understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground," Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement.

© AlaskaReport.com All Rights Reserved.

McCain = Bush