Jon Perr at Perrspectives gives us an inspired list of questions that, in all likelihood, will never be asked of John McCain in a debate or in his interview with George Stephanopoulos this Sunday:
- Do you agree with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy?
- Doesn’t your legendary temper make you too dangerous to be trusted with the presidency of the United States?
- Doesn’t your confusion regarding basic facts about the war in Iraq, including repeatedly citing a nonexistent Al Qaeda-Iran alliance, make you unfit for command?
- Given your past adultery, should Americans consider you a moral exemplar of family values?
- Doesn’t your flip-flop on Jerry Falwell being an “agent of intolerance” show your opportunistic pandering to the religious right?
- Given your wealth and privileged upbringing, aren’t you – and not Barack Obama – the elitist?
- What is your religion, really? And has the answer in the past changed as the South Carolina primary approached?
- Didn’t President Bush betray you with his signing statement on the Detainee Treatment Act? You claim to be against torture, but aren’t you a hypocrite for voting “no” on the Senate waterboaring ban?
- Why did you flip-flop on the Bush tax cuts you twice opposed? Why do you now support making them permanent for the wealthiest Americans who need them least?
- With the economy tanking, shouldn’t Americans be concerned over your past statements that “the issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should?”
My only problem with Jon’s list is that some of the questions actually address substantive issues like the war and the economy. In goes without saying that Stephanopoulos will steer clear of such inquiry. Maybe some other less superficial “journalist” will approach these items. Also I would add a few questions of my own:
- Since the purpose of the surge was to produce political reconciliation in Iraqi and they are no close now than when the surge began, hasn’t the surge failed?
- As a pro-war candidate who frequently cites his experience as a veteran, why have you declined to support the bipartisan GI Bill now in Congress?
- You are an advocate of retroactive immunity for telecom companies and an opponent of the Media Ownership Act of 2007. Does your relationship with telecom lobbyist Vicki Iseman have anything to do with this?
Jon has details and links to source material at his site. Check it out.
“Doesn’t your confusion regarding basic facts about the war in Iraq, including repeatedly citing a nonexistent Al Qaeda-Iran alliance, make you unfit for command?”
From today:
“Iran has been increasing its support for militants in Iraq and terrorism throughout the Middle East, the top US military officer said on Friday.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that Tehran has failed to live up to previous commitments to stop supporting Shia militants responsible for attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces.
”The Iranian government pledged to halt such activities some months ago,” Mullen said. ”It’s plainly obvious they have not. Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way.”
Iran’s elite al-Quds force has continued providing weapons to militants and trains Iraqis on Iranian soil to fight and kill US and Iraqi soldiers.”
QUESTION:
Does supplying arms & training constitute an alliance?
Did you even read the question you cut and pasted into your comment?
It says there is no Al Qaeda-Iran alliance. That is a fact. Al Qaeda are Sunni – Iran is Shiite. They are enemies. That doesn’t mean that Iran isn’t helping Shiites in Iraq. But they aren’t helping Al Qaeda.
You and McCain both fail to understand the critical facts of the region. That is partly why Bush/McCain have screwed things up so horribly and tragically.
Yes, I did read the question Mark. However, I think the question, well, begs the question. If Iran is supplying arms and training to Iraqi militants (if not Al-Qaeda then who? The Basra chapter of MADD?) for the purpose of killing US troops, that constitutes a de facto alliance. During WW2 the United States supplied armaments to the forces of Joseph Stalin for use against Hitler; that doesn’t mean the Soviets were our bosom buddies. It simply means we wanted to see Hitler defeated more than we wanted to see Stalin defeated. Radical Islam’s intentions toward the US are remarkably uniform, “denominational” differences aside. To assume that Iran or Al-Qaeda would put theological differences above the opportunity to kill Americans is to ignore a fairly “critical fact”: They hate the US.
Sorry, but you’re just factually off base. Iran and Al Qaeda are not affiliated in any way other than to kill each other. Iran has plenty of other allies in Iraq to support. Al-Sadr is a Shiite ally of Iran and a much stronger presence in Iraq.
This misunderstanding is not trivial. It forms the foundation for failure in trying to operate in a region of the world that most Americans (including McCain) know nothing about. Or worse, the things they think they know are dead wrong.
“Sorry, but you’re just factually off base. Iran and Al Qaeda are not affiliated in any way other than to kill each other.”
I don’t think so. Repeating an assertion twice (three times if you count the “question”) doesn’t make it so.
[Edited to be more concise and relevant. Please do not post complete newspaper stories. It is a violation of copyright. Also try to include relevant passages and a link to the source. Thanks.]
From the New York Sun, Jan. 2007:
“Iran is supporting both Sunni and Shiite terrorists in the Iraqi civil war, according to secret Iranian documents captured by Americans in Iraq.”
From the 9-11 Commission Report:
“Turabi sought to persuade Shiites and Sunnis to put aside their divisions and join against the common enemy. In late 1991 or 1992, discussions in Sudan between al Qaeda and Iranian operatives led to an informal agreement to cooperate in providing support—even if only training—for actions carried out primarily against Israel and the United States. Not long afterward, senior al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives.
“In sum, there is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers.”
My point was two-fold. First, politics (particularly when they involve the stated goal of global domination which is a central tenet of radical Islam) makes more than strange bedfellows. To draw an historical analogy, the fascism of Nazi Germany and the communism of the Soviet Union were arguably more incompatible than Sunnis and Shiites and yet they managed to cooperate until they got around to killing one another. Second, common hatred of the US trumps all other differences; misunderstanding that fact IS a prescription for failure or worse.
You and I are obviously not going to agree on this. I put no credence in the story from the Sun because it’s only source was American military PR. Remember Judith Miller, Ahmed Chalabi, and Curveball? Nothing but lies.
Also, there was never any corroboration of the statements in the 9/11 report despite the authors’ recommendation to investigate further.
What do think of the other questions?
“What do think of the other questions?” Thanks for asking.
I’m walking out the door to go to my son’s Little League game, but I can deal with one quickly.
“Do you agree with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy?”
Hagee endorsed McCain, but I doubt McCain knows Hagee’s eschatalogical views. Might be better to find out McCain’s Baptist pastor’s views and ask him about those.
For the record, although I’m a biblically conservative Presbyterian, I think Hagee’s end-time views are, well, nuts.