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Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.
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A couple things here. First, even if a "surge" is the way to win in Afghanistan, I'm not sure where McCain is planning on getting the troops for said surge when he wants to keep a long-term, powerful presence in Iraq. All our generals will tell him our forces are stretched to their limit as it is, so those two ends (maintaining long-term in Iraq and surging in Afghanistan) obviously do not mesh. Only Obama is calling for a gradual pull-out in Iraq so that we can get our troops home, get them some R&R, then redeploy a portion to Afghanistan.
Second, I am so sick of this ridiculous notion that McCain knows how to win wars. The guy was a fighter pilot. He wasn't calling the shots. (And even if he was, he fought in the war America lost.) As poorly conceived and delivered as his statement was, Wesley Clark was absolutely right when he said being a fighter pilot and POW does little prepare you for the position of Commander in Chief.