Whoever said that politicians can’t keep it real haven’t spoken to Sen. John McCain. In an interview with MTV, the GOP representer sounded off on everything from Iraq to young Americans.
With some Americans calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, McCain says that our troops probably won’t come home for another few years.
“The whole key to it is the Iraqi military and law enforcement there being able to carry out the responsibilities that American military are doing now,”McCain said to MTV. “Americans are not so concerned about troops in Iraq [as they are] troops dying in Iraq. We’ve had military personnel in Korea for the last 50 years. No one has seemed to mind too much. So the key’s taking casualties down and creating a situation where Americans can withdraw. We’re not there yet. We’re a long way from there. It’s going to be long and hard and tough. But the consequences of failure are immense.”
Sen. McCain also says that the ability of Iraq’s government to govern itself will also play a key role in how long, or short the American military will have an occupation of the region.
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“The next six months to a year will be critical,” he stated. “Because the Iraqi government’s going to have to take hold, people are going to have to support it, the training of the Iraqi military is going to have to proceed in a more efficient fashion, and they’re going to have to bring casualties down. We could have troops there for many years, just as we’ve had troops in Korea for many years. We’d have to create a situation over time where Americans aren’t dying. A date for withdrawal is an artificial date.”
In addition to the conflict in Iraq, McCain also has his eyes on other areas of the globe, including the not so publicized genocide taking place in Darfur, an area of Africa. The Arizona senator hopes the U.S. will eventually do more to aid the area. An estimated 400,000 have been killed and another 2.5 million have been displaced.
“This business in Darfur is a very, very important point,” he said of the conflict. “After the Holocaust, we said, ‘Never again.’ After Rwanda, we said, ‘Never again.’ The question is, after Darfur, are we going to say, ‘Never again?’ I’m afraid the way things are going, we might. I think it’s terrible we haven’t done more. We’ve done some, but we’ve got to do a lot more. We need to fund the Organization of American States to send troops there. It will be more successful that way, and [then we need to provide] all the logistical assistance that’s necessary. Fly in supplies. Fly in equipment. Fly in food. But use other African countries troops to bring it under control. In many ways they’re better equipped to do that.”
McCain also touched on the economy and the theory of intelligent design. For the full story, check MTV.com.
