Troop surge stance further differentiates McCain from Obama
Obama continues tour of Middle East
10:23 a.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Barack Obama has wasted little time during his trip to Iraq, meeting with U.S. troops and meeting the top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, who openly disagrees with the candidate's plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from the country within 16 months.
"We play different roles. My job is to think about the national security interests as a whole, and to have to weigh and balance risks, in Afghanistan , in Iraq. Their job is just to get the job done here," Obama said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Nightline.
Obama maintains he would not have supported last summer's troop surge despite its success.
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"What I am absolutely convinced of is that, at that time, we had to change the political debate, because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with," Obama said.
Rival John McCain, while paying a visit to former President Bush in Kennebunkport, Maine, wasted no time attacking Obama.
"It was the surge that succeeded. It is the surge that is winning this war," McCain said.
At a rally in South Portland, a fired-up McCain lashed out yet again.
"He said it would fail, and he refuses to this day to acknowledge it's succeeded," McCain said. "And my friends that's what judgment is about. That's why I'm qualified to lead, and I don't need any on-the-job training."
The next country on Obama's itinerary: Jordan. He arrives there this morning, and he will dine with King Abdullah before leaving for Israel.
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