McCain’s stance on troop withdrawal

(You agreed with McCain in the decision to go to war in Iraq, though you were both critical of the execution of the war. You both were supportive of the surge and are against setting a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Do these positions put McCain as out of step as it seems?) I think he’s in better position that your question suggests. McCain basically echoes what Patreaus has been saying, that the conditions are fragile and the conditions should set the timetable for withdrawal. (Are you advising any candidate?) I’m willing to give my opinions to anyone who will listen, but I get more attention from McCain than Obama. (What’s the easiest and most concise way for McCain to convince Americans that they are safer as a result of actions in Iraq?) Al Qaeda has suffered a strategic defeat and Iraq has gone from being a weakness to a strength. (Al Qaeda was not known to have any presence in Iraq before Americans came there.) That’s true, but also irrelevant. Al Qaeda made a bet by trying to move into post-Saddam Iraq and that’s been a bad bet for them.