John McCain
Town Hall Meeting
Warren, MI 07/18/08
TRANSCRIPTION
QUESTIONER: My son is currently in Iraq, so the war is very important to me. And there are a lot of people who say there where never any weapons of mass destruction, and we shouldn't have been there, what would you say to them? And also, do you agree with the assessment situation with Mike McCollin and John Petreus?
MCCAIN: Thank you. I think I addressed, a little bit, this issue of weapons of mass destruction. Every intelligence agency in the world said- believed- that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, so there couldn't have been that kind of massive conspiracy. You couldn't have gotten the CIA and others to come to that assessment. In addition, Saddam Hussein has said, categorically, that he was intent on acquiring those weapons, he had used them twice before, and there's no doubt of his intent to do it again. Also, there was abuse of human rights, threats to the neighbors, etc. Um, I want to thank you for your son's service. And, I do agree with the assessment of General Patreus and McMullin. I do agree that we have succeeded. But I also want to emphasize, that that success that we've achieved is very fragile, it could be reversed very easily. Al Queda is on their heels, they are not defeated. I also predict that they will make an attempt, as we get into the election season, to make more of these spectacular kinds of attacks to which they are still capable of doing. The suicide bombers, etc., would not surprise me- we've already found out that they are going to try to step up their attacks and do things in a more spectacular fashion so that they can erode the support of the Malachi government. And by the way, the Malaki government and the United States government will work together on an agreement as to the withdrawal of the U.S. troops. We will withdraw, we will come home with honor and victory, and it will be dictated by the events on the ground. I've recently had talks with the president of Iraq, and also the foreign minister. We're in agreement. And by the way, the same people that are tellin ya a lot of these things about lack of success and that the Malachi government isn't working, which it is, their the same ones that said the surge would fail. Keep that in mind the next time you hear from one of em. So, um, we have succeeded, and I am confident that we will win victory, and that is all contingent on our commitment to making sure we withdraw according to conditions on the ground and largely in keeping with the recommendations of General Petreus and our military leaders. The final decision, of course, always rests with the commander and chief. And I've had the experience in many wars, both personally and involved in national security aspects to know and have the judgment to lead this country and keep young Americans safe. And I want to point out to you again, I hate war. I hate war. No one hates war more than the veteran. Cause the veteran knows what it's like to lose a comrad. So you can be absolutely sure that I will keep this nation at peace. And as Ronald Reagan said, peace through strength.
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