Debates: Iraq

There were no surprises with regards to Iraq. John McCain was the most forceful in his support, trying also to distance himself from Bush's administration of the war. Interestingly, he was the only person on DB's "surrender" and "defeat" checklist. He even said them back to back:

My friends, when the majority leader of the United States Senate says we've lost the war, the men and women that are serving in Iraq reject that notion. And if we lost, then who won? Did al Qaeda win? When on the floor of House of Representatives -- they cheer. They cheer when they passed a withdrawal motion -- that is, a certain date for surrender, what were they cheering? Surrender? Defeat?

Ron Paul, absolutely against the war. Everybody else, supportive.

The interesting comments on Iraq came from Tommy Thompson:

MR. MATTHEWS: Governor Thompson, if you're commander in chief and you want to win this war in Iraq, what do you need to do to win it?

MR. THOMPSON: First, you have to support the troops. There's an undying bond in America that any time an American soldier is in harm's way, we have to protect him.

Beyond that, there are three things that I've laid out. Number one, I believe the al-Maliki government should be required to vote as to whether or not they want America in their country. If they vote yes, it gives us a legitimacy for being there. If they vote no, we should get out.

Secondly, there are 18 territories in Iraq, just like we have 50 states in America. I would require those territories to elect governments, just like we do in our states.

And if you do so, the Shi'ites will elect Shi'ites, Sunnis will elect Sunnis, Kurds will elect Kurds, and you won't have this internecine civil war.

Third, I would split the oil reserves -- one-third to the federal government, one-third to the state government, and one-third to every man, woman and child. If every man, woman and child is getting part of the oil proceeds, they're going to have a vested interest in their country. They'll be purchasing goods, they will be investing in small businesses, and they'll be building the country on democratic grounds in Iraq.

It's nice to see he's been thinking about things, but what is he talking about? It's pretty clear already the Iraqis want us out. And that means it's too late to organize 18 elections. He's out-Bidened Joe Biden!

The sad truth about Iraq is that our military didn't lose. Our politicians lost. And now they want the troops to pull out a miracle.

Mitt Romney was the only candidate to mention Afghanistan:

But I will go to work not only to win the war on terror as it relates to Iraq and Afghanistan, but on a global basis, not only with a strong military -- we need at least 100,000 more troops, more military spending -- but at the same time we have to strengthen our economy and make sure that somebody who's been in the private sector all his life can protect American jobs and finally strengthen the American family.

Not much of a discussion on Afghanistan, was it?