John McCain/National Security and Foreign Policy

The Iraq war
In December of 2004, McCain called for expanding the size of the military in order to send more troops to Iraq.

In November 2005, McCain called for a diversification of Iraqi national forces to better represent the multiple ethnic groups contained within the country.
 * McCain's full speech on the issue can be found on at his Senate website.

McCain introduced an amendment on June 14, 2006 to a defense authorization bill to urge the Bush administration to provide estimates or required war funding in its annual budgets. The provision carried no weight, however, and was unenforceable.

The troop "surge" in Iraq
On February 5, 2007, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a resolution which would set eleven conditions that the Iraqi government would need to meet in order to retain American support. In addition, it would express that the president and all personnel serving under him should “receive from Congress the full support necessary to carry out the United States mission in Iraq.”

In January, McCain disagreed with a statement by Sen. Joe Biden that it was unconstitutional for Congress to require authorization for a troop increase after authorizing the war, saying that it is most definitely within the rights of Congress to cut funding for the war. He added, however, that he disagreed with such a move because it would lead to an unacceptable failure for the U.S. in Iraq.

Walking the streets of Baghdad
On April 1, 2007, McCain and a congressional delegation strolled the streets of Baghdad with a massive armored escort. There were 100 soldiers, 3 Blackhawk helicopters and 2 Apache Gunships accompanying the delegation, with snipers watching over them. After walking through the Shorja market in Baghdad under the tight security, McCain claimed that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.” In a press conference after his Baghdad tour, McCain told a reporter that his visit to the market today was proof that you could indeed “walk freely” in some areas of Baghdad.

Within a week, McCain issued an apology for his remarks the previous weekend, declaring that his ability to walk freely around the marketplace was a sign of significant improvement in security in Iraq under the "surge".

Statements of progress on the Iraq war
McCain has been predicting "victory" and citing the present as a "critical time" for over five years:


 * Sept 24th, 2002: "Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women"


 * Sept. 29, 2002: "I believe we can win an overwhelming victory, in a very short time"


 * Mar. 23, 2003: “I believe that this conflict is still going to be relatively short.”


 * June 4, 2004: “The terrorists know that this is a very critical time.”


 * Dec. 4, 2005: "We will probably see significant progress in the next six months to a year."


 * Aug. 20, 2006: (In response to the question, "You agree this is a critical moment in Iraq?") "I agree it’s a critical time, yes."


 * Dec. 8, 2005: "Overall, I think a year from now, we will have a fair amount of progress [in Iraq] if we stay the course.” (When confronted by Tim Russert on Meet the Press on November 12, 2006, McCain admitted that that has "proven not to be correct.")


 * Aug. 22, 2006: "The American people ... were led to believe that this would be some kind of a day at the beach which many of us, uh, fully understood from the very beginning would be a very, very difficult undertaking"


 * Oct. 19, 2006: "I think that, first of all, things are very serious there. And to say otherwise I don’t think would be an accurate depiction of events, and this is a very critical time."


 * Nov. 12, 2006: It is a "critical time" in Iraq and "we’re either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months."


 * Nov. 13, 2006: "The fate of the Iraqi venture will be decided in the next six months or so."

Reources

 * - JohnMcCain.com - Strategy for Victory in Iraq

Veterans issues
In 2006, Senator McCain supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 20 percent; the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator McCain a grade of D; and he sponsored or co-sponsored 18 percent of the legislation favored by the the Retired Enlisted Association.

Resources

 * JohnMcCain.com - Commitment to America's Service Members: Past and Present

National Security issues
Senator McCain supported the interests of the Center for Security Policy 59 percent in 2005-2006.

Resources

 * JohnMcCain.com - National Security

Foreign aid and policy issues
In 2007, Citizens for Global Solutions gave Senator McCain a grade of B-, while the senator supported the interests of the Council for a Livable World 0 percent that year.

Israel
John McCain in an ardent supporter of Israel and its government's policies. On his website he poses in front of an American and Israeli flags. Ron Kampeas described McCain's efforts to reach out to the Jewish community in a January 2007 piece in JTA, a Jewish news service:

[Presidential candidates] are lining up Jewish support... This month, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plucked Jay Zeidman, President Bush’s popular Jewish outreach official, to lead his Jewish campaign... McCain's Jewish strategy mirrors his broader realignment in recent years with Republicans who are loyal to President Bush, leaving behind the bloodletting of the tough 2000 primaries campaign.

In addition to Jay Zeidman, he is counting on an endorsement from the former White House liaison's father, Fred Zeidman, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and a major fund-raiser for Bush. Another likely endorser is Ned Siegel, who was the named plaintiff in the successful effort to stop the Florida recount, a decision that placed Bush in the White House. McCain has a solid pro-Israel record, and he has been outspoken about isolating Iran as long as it poses a nuclear threat. He made that call most recently in a satellite address at this week's Herzliya Conference and in October at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.

McCain has toughened his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, positions that place him at odds with most American Jews. Yet he also has forged alliances with domestic Jewish groups on issues such as campaign-finance reform and against torture.

Military issues
Senator McCain supported the interests of the Women's Action for New Directions 0 percent in 2005, and the Non Commissioned Officers Association 100 percent in 2003.

Criticism of Gen. George Casey
As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, McCain, as well as Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and John Ensign, voted against the confirmation of General George Casey to the chief of staff of the Army in early February 2007. The committee voted, however, 14-3. 

In February 2007 McCain was highly critical of Gen. George Casey, the outgoing commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who was nominated to be the Army's chief of staff. During a Senate hearing McCain said:

While there are very pressing questions about the future of the Army, you will, of course, in this hearing be asked to review the mistakes in American strategy in Iraq during your command, how the previous Iraq strategy was formulated, why it failed, and why it was not changed sooner, and the lessons that were learned…And you’ll need to explain why your assessment of the situation in Iraq has differed so radically from that of most observers and why your predictions of future success have been so unrealistically rosy.

McCain and Rumsfeld
In December 2004, McCain stated that he had "no confidence" in then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. McCain refused to call for his resignation, however, saying that he respected President George W. Bush's authority to keep "the team that he wants around him" in office.

On February 19, 2007, while campaigning in South Carolina, McCain delivered scathing criticism of Rumsfeld, saying he "will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense." He also stated, "We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war."

Resources

 * JohnMcCain.com - National Security

Criticism of Sen. Harry Reid for criticizing Gen. Peter Pace
In June 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called outgoing Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Peter Pace "incompetent." McCain then released a statement saying that Reid's comments were "incredibly disappointing" and "highly inappropriate."

External resources

 * Project Vote Smart's database of Obama's interest group ratings, Obama's important votes, McCain's important votes and McCain's interest group ratings.