U.S. Republican presidential candidate
Senator John McCain pauses during remarks at his campaign headquarters in
Arlington, Virginia, July 8, 2008. For the first time, U.S. Republican
presidential hopeful John McCain left the door open on the issue of
whether the country should set a timetable to withdraw troops from
Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, U.S.
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain left the door open on the issue of
whether the country should set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq.
In an interview with CNN broadcast Tuesday, the
Arizona senator said he could support a 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S.
troops from Iraq, which, is the central theme of Barack Obama, his Democratic
rival, on Iraq policy.
The difference, is that McCain said he would only do
so if military chiefs deemed the "conditions on the ground" safe enough. For
Obama, it is unconditional.
The remarks was a drastic turn of McCain's policy
tone on Iraq. He had been resisting the timetable for a long time.
But he still insisted that the invasion of Iraq in
2003 is still a right decision in retrospect.
"The fact that Saddam Hussein was bent on acquiring
weapons of mass destruction. ... I think we did the right thing," said
McCain.
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R)
speaks with U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (L) in
Baghdad July 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain
gained ground in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that also found his Democratic
rival Barack Obama's foreign trip hasn't boosted his image among voters.
The survey, released Tuesday, showed a surge since last
month in likely Republican voters and suggested Obama's trip may have helped
energize voters who favor McCain.
BAGHDAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government said
Monday that it hopes the U.S. combat troops would leave by 2010, raising a clear
vision of time line after the two countries have agreed on a vague "time
horizon."
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh made the remarks
as U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is here on a fact-finding
tour.
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki's public demand for the U.S. troops withdrawal timetable from the
country fueled on Tuesday the debate between Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain on Iraq policy.
McCain insisted that any further withdrawal of U.S. troops
in Iraq should be based on security situation on the ground.
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. presumptive
Republican presidential candidate John McCain's remark on the Iraq war on
Wednesday invited opposition from Democrats, saying he was planning to continue
the unpopular war indefinitely.
The Arizona senator was asked if he had an estimate of
when a withdrawal process may be possible during an interview with NBC's Today
Show, and he answered "No, but that's not too important."
WASHINGTON, May
26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain attempted to
distance himself from President George W. Bush administration's war policies on
Monday as he addressed an assembly for the Memorial Day.
"As we all know, the American people have grown sick and
tired of the war in Iraq," the Arizona Senator and Vietnam War veteran told
hundreds of veterans and their families at a ceremony in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. "I, too, have been made sick at heart by the many mistakes made by
civilian and military commanders and the terrible price we have paid for
them."
