In Case You Missed It: Senator McCain's Remarks Regarding Afghanistan

Press Conference

In Case You Missed It: Senator McCain's remarks from a press conference this afternoon with Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) regarding President Obama's decision to appoint General David Petraeus as top commander in Afghanistan:

"We applaud the decision of the President of the United States to ask General Petraeus to go serve again in defense of our nation. We think there is no one more qualified or more outstanding leader than General Petraeus to achieve a successful conclusion of the Afghan conflict. We praise the service of General McChrystal and thank him for his service to our nation and wish him well, every success in the future. We are confident that General Petraeus' leadership will have a very positive effect on the situation in the region." -- Senator John McCain

"We know there's tough sledding ahead. … The concern that we have is, and the issue that will be raised in General Petraeus' confirmation hearings is, exactly what is meant by "withdrawal in the middle of 2011,' whether that is "etched in stone' as the President's spokesperson … stated or whether it will be conditions based. Obviously, we feel strongly it needs to be condition based because if you tell the enemy when you are leaving, then obviously it has an adverse effect on your ability to succeed. So that is a major concern and there's a great deal of ambiguity about that issue. I'm convinced that we can succeed in Afghanistan with the leadership and the talent of the young men and women who are serving, but we have to send the message that we will do whatever is necessary in order to achieve success. ... The withdrawal of U.S. troops must be based on conditions at the time, not on an arbitrary date." -- Senator John McCain

Source