ThinkProgress:GrahamClaimsMcCain‘HasNeverSaidThatThisWarWouldBeEasy’
TuesdayonFoxNews’HannityandColmes,SenatorLindseyGraham(R-SC)claimedthatSen.JohnMcCain(R-AZ)neversaidthattheIraqwarwouldbewoneasily:
Hehasneversaidthatthiswarwouldbeeasy.Hehasbeentheguysayingforfouryearsthatwe’regettingitwrong.Weneedmoretroops.
Graham’sstatementisabsolutelyfalse.Intherun-uptowar,McCaineagerlyproclaimedonmultipleoccasionsthatthewarwouldbe“easy,”givingrosypredictionsaboutthedauntingwarahead:
“BecauseIknowthatassuccessfulasIbelievewewillbe,andIbelievethatthesuccesswillbefairlyeasy,wewillstilllosesomeAmericanyoungmenorwomen.”"[CNN,9/24/02]
“Butthepointisthat,one,wewillwinthisconflict.Wewillwiniteasily.”[MSNBC,1/22/03]
WhenAlanColmescounteredGraham’sstatementwithabarrageofsimilarquotesfromMcCain,Grahamresponded:“HesaidthatbeatingtheSaddamHusseinregimemilitarilywasquickanditwaslethal,”implyingMcCainknewthepost-invasionwouldbedifficult.ButMcCainhasdisplayedignoranceaboutthataswell:
“We’renotgoingtogetintohouse-to-housefightinginBaghdad.Wemayhavetotakeoutbuildings,butwe’renotgoingtohaveabloodlettingoftradingAmericanbodiesforIraqibodies.”[CNN,9/29/02]
“There’snotahistoryofclashesthatareviolentbetweenSunnisandShias.SoIthinktheycanprobablygetalong.”[MSNBC,4/23/03]
McCainevenreflectedonthewarlastyearandsaid,“itwaseasy.”“Well,itwaseasy.Itwaseasy.Isaidwe—amilitaryoperationwouldbeeasy.Itwaseasy.Weweregreetedasliberators,”hetoldTimRussertonMeetthePressinJanuary2007.
Notsurprisingly,inhismajornationalsecurityaddresstoday,McCainreflected:“
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