More On John McCains “Improvement”
I guess these citizens couldn’t afford the armored Humvee, flak jacket, and marine escort John McCain has at his disposal when he goes to the market and talks about the improvement in personal security in Iraqi.
A newborn baby was one of at least 14 children and adults killed when a suicide bomber detonated a lorry laden with explosives close to a primary school in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk yesterday.
The latest massacre of Iraqi children came as 21 Shia market workers were ambushed, bound and shot dead north of the capital. The victims came from the Baghdad market visited the previous day by John McCain, the US presidential candidate, who said that an American security plan in the capital was starting to show signs of progress.
(emphasis mine)
[h/t BradSpangler.com]
[Update] It seems that the people who work in John’s market think he’s full of sh*t to
A day after members of an American Congressional delegation led by Senator John McCain pointed to their brief visit to Baghdad’s central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city was working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans’ conclusions.
“What are they talking about?†Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!â€
The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.
“They paralyzed the market when they came,†Mr. Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. “This was only for the media.â€
None of that will stop good old fashioned Bush supporting Republicans, those who support them, and the news/talk radio hosts who inhabit the upper-right-quadrant, from talking about how good things are in the these days.
I use to have some respect for McCain – a Republican who ‘got it’, but now that he is trying to woo the hard conservatives, that respect is slipping fast.
Simply put, McCain, like all the other presidential hopefuls, is a vote whore; he’ll say whatever gets him the Republican nomination.
Right now a whole lot of Republicans desperately want to believe that the surge is working, they have to, if it isn’t that means their leader is either spinning them a line [yet again] or was wrong [yet again] – McCain is tossing them that bone.
I want to like McCain. His personal story and lip service to human rights for detainees creates a soft spot for him. His support for Bush and his escalation mentality prevent me from liking him. He’s a militarist who sees a winnable war in Iraq. That puts him too far out of touch with reality to qualify him for the presidency. He probably knows how many sides on a triangle, at least.
JB
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