McCains leisurely stroll thourgh Baghdad Market

Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq.

NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s one-hour guided tour. He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” Still photographs provided by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit.

Well I guess I'd feel 'safe' to with 100 troops and some air support when walking through a hellhole. I honestly thought McCain had a bit more integrity but this incident reveals the mans stupidity to the extreme. In one of the bloodiest weeks in Iraq he has the gall to claim some are "not getting the full picture". I love the medias spin on this, all the big news outlets ate this garbage up like it was their last dinner. Pathetic.

src: thinkprogress.org...

brill

Whatever else I may think of him, he IS a presidential candidate and a political leader. Of course he's going to have massive amounts of protection, whether he wanted it, or not. Not one officer with any amount of concern for future hopes for promotion is going to allow him to pick up so much as a splinter. So no surprise there.

He probably did much more than just wander through a Bahgdad market. If he has any integrity whatsoever, he did. Talk to not only the soldiers officers, but the soldiers themselves. The civilians, too, of course. Though I have my doubts as to his integrity, this should have been an oppourtunity for him to do some snooping, or maybe his aides whilst he draws the attention of the watchdogs.

On an aside, we aren't getting the whole story. On that we agree. Very few of the media types go outside of Bahgdad to see whats going on elsewhere. One its dangerous trying to just get out of Bahgdad. Two, in all too many cases, not all mind you, but in all too many cases; what they find wouldn't fit their editorial bias. Instead of telling us what is going on both good and bad, they pick one or the other, to the exclusion of the other.

Senator McCain had little or nothing to say about the level of troop presence. Think about it a little and you'll realize that too. Not flaming, just pointing out something you might have overlooked.

Of course there will be heightened security, thats a foregone conclusion. But to imply that things have improved while being under such a protective umbrella is ludicrous given the problems and probably an insult to those in the know. It just smacks of bad PR and I would have expected more from him. I'm surprised he didn't dodge into a newly build Mcpuke's and do a quick fillet-o-fish endorsement to cover all grounds.

But you are right in that there may be more to the story.

brill

[edit on 2-4-2007 by brill]

ha ha I think McCain has lost it, I think he and George have something in common.

see link for Video

Of course McCain has to blame the media again. Newsweek reminds us just how "safe" Baghdad really is:

[I]t didn't take the insurgents long to send their reply. Less then 30 minutes after McCain wrapped up, a barrage of half a dozen mortars peppered the boundaries of the Green Zone, where the senators held their press conference.
Crooks and Liars

If he didn't try to find out more about whats is or isn't happening, he's a fool. Whether or not it fits into whatever preconcieved notions he might have had is beside the point. If he is at all honest, and we all know how honest and politician are oxymorons, he'll have at least attempted to look around after the cameras stopped rolling.

Man, how were we so confused.
Baghdads Safe?
all these kidnappings, car bombs, gun fights, air strikes, chlorine attacks are really over stated?
And that any common man can freely walk through the streets...

Well, a 100 troops, Apache helicopters and Blackhawks were needed, but hey... that doesnt mean its not safe... it just means its safe.. so long as you have this...

Id prefer the shades to be off but, then we'd see how 'safe' he really feels.

Tell me, Did foreigners need this sort of protection, back when Baghdad was a living hell hole under evil dictatorship ?

McCain is getting my vote.