Of Course We Can Stay. Of Course We Can Stay. Of Course We Can Stay: Or in other words, why we'll be in Iraq ... forever! Just came across this August 2005 John McCain interview with the Arizona Daily Star:

Daily Star: You have said you believe it would be disaster to set a deadline for getting out of Iraq, despite what leaders including Chuck Hagel (Republican senator from Nebraska) have said recently. At whatever point we leave Iraq, do you think we're going to have to tolerate a certain level of insurgency there or do we wipe it out before we leave?

McCain: I don't know if you can completely wipe it out. We haven't wiped out the terrorist attacks in the United States. You'd have to reduce it to a point where it would be dramatically different than today.

I was on Fox I guess a couple of weeks ago. That's when all this chatter was going on about withdrawing troops. And I said that the day I can land at the airport in Baghdad and ride in an unarmed car to the Green Zone is the day that I'd like to talk about withdrawing troops.

The key to it is not so much troop presence. People get it wrong when they say we've got to get them out of there. Nobody says we've get to get our troops out of South Korea because Americans aren't dying in South Korea. The key to it is getting the casualties down. We've got troops stationed everywhere in the world, every continent certainly. I don't see demonstrations saying get our troops out of South Korea. Or Germany. Or wherever. [...]

Daily Star: We seem to be in a situation where we can't leave, we can't stay. Is this any position ...

McCain: Of course we can stay. Of course we can stay. Of course we can stay.

Daily Star: At what cost?

McCain: A heavy cost. We've made mistakes, $300 billion so far. Mr. Wolfowitz (former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz), I believe, early on said that we could pay for the costs with Iraqi oil revenues, if I recall that statement.

Daily Star: Why does that give you confidence that these are the same people that can execute this war?

McCain: Because we cannot afford to lose. I'd be glad to have a debate with you but we cannot afford to lose. I debate this all the time. I'd be glad to have another one with you. But the fact is we cannot afford to lose. We must win. We must prevail. And it may require additional service and sacrifice, tragically.

01/23/2007 12:30 AM  |  Comment (5)

Hi! What are you doing down here?