McCain touts military credentials

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the only top-tier Republican presidential candidate who served in the military, highlighted his combat experience Monday in an address to the National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

During much of the speech, McCain hinted at the bond that exists between those who have seen combat.

{mosads}“Unless you are a veteran you might find it odd that I would be indebted to the Navy for sending me to war,” McCain said in his speech to the group in Kansas City. “You might conclude mistakenly that the secret bond veterans share is that we enjoyed war. But as most veterans know, war is an experience we would not trade and we would rather not repeat.”

The senator added that veterans “share a secret” that is “in part appreciation for having sacrificed for a cause greater than ourselves; relief for having your courage and honor tested and affirmed in the fearsome crucible of combat; pride for having replaced comfort and security with misery and deprivation and not been broken by the experience.”

McCain used a large portion of his remarks to address the bond of loyalty that connects the men and women who have fought on the front lines. However, he also spoke about the war in Iraq and his frustration with how it was run early on.

“As we all know, the war in Iraq has not gone well, and the American people have grown sick and tired of it,” he said. “I understand that, of course. I, too, have been made sick at heart by the many mistakes made by civilian and military commanders and the terrible price we have paid for them.”

McCain, who long has advocated adding troops in Iraq, said there now is a strategy in place that can lead to success.

“To concede defeat now would strengthen al Qaeda, empower Iran and other hostile powers in the Middle East, unleash a full-scale civil war in Iraq that could quite possibly provoke genocide there, and destabilize the entire region as neighboring powers come to the aid of their favored factions,” McCain said. “I will attempt to convince as many of my countrymen as I can that we must show even greater patience, though our patience is nearly exhausted, and that as long as there is a prospect for not losing this war then we must not choose to lose it.”