McCAIN SAYS HE AND OBAMA SHOULD VISIT IRAQ TOGETHER: DOES THIS MEAN McCAIN WILL NEED 200 TROOPS AS SECURITY INSTEAD OF 100 LIKE THE LAST TIME

When Sen. John McCain first visited Iraq, the US military provided a security guard of 100 troops to protect him as he walked around the streets of Baghdad. McCain returned to the US and told a nationwide audience that everything was so calm in Baghdad he could walk around the streets unprotected.

When McCain returned to Iraq earlier this year, he wanted to visit the same Baghdad neighborhood but the US military told him that part of the city was far too dangerous to visit and so McCain settled for a photo/op at another part of Baghdad.

Now McCain has issued a challenge to Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for POTUS, to visit Iraq with him.

Does this mean McCain will ask for a security detail of 200 troops if Obama were to join him on a tour of Baghdad, which, of course, is highly unlikely?

Editorial Comment: Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE

Republican John McCain on Monday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together.

By LIZ SIDOTI and BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press WritersTue May 27, 12:54 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

"Look at what happened in the last two years since Senator Obama visited and declared the war lost," the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting told The Associated Press in an interview, noting that the Illinois senator's last trip to Iraq came before the military buildup that is credited with curbing violence.

"He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time," the Arizona senator added. "If there was any other issue before the American people, and you hadn't had anything to do with it in a couple of years, I think the American people would judge that very harshly."

McCain, a Navy veteran and Vietnam prisoner of war, frequently argues that he's the most qualified candidate to be a wartime commander in chief. In recent weeks, he has sought portray Obama, a first-term senator, as naive on foreign policy and not experienced enough to lead the military.

The Iraq war, which polls have shown that most of the country opposes, is shaping up to be a defining issue in the November presidential election.

McCain, who wrapped up the GOP nomination in March, supports continued military presence in Iraq though he recently said he envisions victory with most U.S. troops coming home by January 2013 if he's elected. Obama, who has all but clinched the Democratic nomination, says he will remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office, though sometimes he shortens it to 11 months.

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