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In 2004, McCain attended a Council on Foreign Relations event where he was asked, “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?" He answered:
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.”Today, The Washington Post reports that the Maliki government is ready to force the issue:
Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in Baghdad on Wednesday that a U.S. pullout could be completed in several years. "It can be 2011 or 2012," he said. "We don't have a specific date in mind, but we need to agree on the principle of setting a deadline."Read that second part again: "We need to agree on the principle of setting a deadline." In other words, we're being asked to set a date for departure. We're being asked to leave by the theoretically sovereign government of Iraq -- and certainly the one we have imbued with legitimacy. If we reject those demands, then we are, simply, occupiers. Four years ago, John McCain knew exactly what to do in this situation. "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,” he said. Does he still hold that view? Or has he -- dare I say it? -- flip-flopped?
