McCain, 2004: We Would Have to Leave If Asked
It was reported earlier this week that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “demanded” that the United States set a timetable for withdrawal. Four years ago, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations and discussed his views on withdrawal if the Iraqi government asked the U.S. to leave:
Question: “What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there?”
McCain’s Answer: “Well, if that scenario evolves than I think it’s obvious that we would have to leave because — if it was an elected government of Iraq, and we’ve been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government then I think we would have other challenges, but I don’t see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people.”
The “leave if asked to” stance from four years ago seems like a perfectly legitimate point to raise with Senator McCain.
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