Thursday, March 20, 2008

McCain confuses Sunni and Shiites, al Qaeda and Iran

Was McCain really this woefully ignorant, or was it just an age related (and repeated) slip of the tongue? From the daily Progress Report of the Center for American Progress:

IRAQ -- MCCAIN REPEATEDLY CONFLATES IRAN AND AL QAEDA: Despite Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) frequent assertions that he could "best address a national security crisis" and that he has "the most experience...when it comes to foreign policy," yesterday he severely undermined this claim when he conflated Shiite Iran with Sunni al Qaeda. Speaking to reporters in Jordan, McCain said he was concerned about Iranian operatives "training" al Qaeda in Iran "and sending them back" to Iraq -- a claim he made at least twice during that press conference. Only after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) whispered a correction in his ear did McCain correct himself to say he meant "extremists," not al Qaeda. He made the same assertion on Hugh Hewitt's right-wing radio show as well. Despite the fact that McCain repeated this fundamental error at least three times and only corrected himself at Lieberman's urging, McCain's campaign insisted McCain "misspoke and immediately corrected himself."

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