NY Times Turns Down McCain
The New York Times has turned down an op-ed written by Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. They are a private organization, and I suppose it is fair to say that they are welcome to publish or turn down whomever they want. His article, Getting Iraq Right, can instead be found at the New York Post.
I felt compelled to expand on a couple points in his article.
One: McCain makes the point that the Bush Administration waved the “Mission Accomplished” banner “prematurely” as is Barack Obama with his Iraq withdrawal policy. Well, the thing is: the banner did not signify that the mission in Iraq was accomplished, as Democrats want you to believe. According to Commander Conrad Chun, a spokesman for the US Navy, “The banner signified the successful completion of the ship’s deployment.” The USS Abraham Lincoln had been deployed for 290 days – the longest deployment ever for a nuclear aircraft carrier. They were on their way home, their mission was accomplished.
Two: McCain brings up Obama’s withdrawal strategy: “Sen. Obama has said that he’d consult our commanders on the ground and Iraqi leaders, but he did no such thing before releasing his ‘plan for Iraq.’ Perhaps that’s because he doesn’t want to hear what they have to say.”
When Washington politicians get involved in war, prepare for defeat! Our own Congress found a way to lose the Vietnam War after the military won. The military defeated the Communists and forced North Vietnam to sign the Paris Peace Accords, which should have been the end. But just like the Tet Offensive, what happened on the battlefield didn’t matter. After years of fighting and over 365,000 dead, missing, or wounded Americans, Congress cut needed funding to South Vietnam, and the North was able to conquer them without opposition. Millions of people were killed as a result of our exit strategy in Vietnam.
No wonder why the Times won’t run McCain’s op-ed. He brings attention to the fact that Obama “never talks about winning the war – only of ending it.” That will only lead to a rerun of our failure in Vietnam.