DNC Statement on McCain Gaffe

From the DNC: 

McCain Gets Basic Facts Wrong on Iraq, Iran, and Al-Qaeda

This is not the first time McCain has confused Sunnis and Shiites on this trip.  According to this transcript, McCain said the same thing on Hugh Hewitt's radio show. So much for that foreign policy experience, knowledge and judgement...  Please see Karen Finney's response below.

"As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they're moving back into Iraq."

Full transcript here.

Listen to audio here.

Video of McCain in Jordan here.

Washington, DC - Just one day after meeting with senior Iraqi and military leaders, John McCain got the basic facts about the violence in Iraq wrong today.

According to reports, McCain repeatedly said that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was training and providing supplies to "the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda."  Asked to elaborate, McCain said it is "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." [The Trail blog, WashingtonPost.com, 3/18/08]   The fact is, Iran is not helping al-Qaeda terrorists.  And, McCain's rhetoric aside, State Department assessments show that al-Qaeda represents between one percent and five percent of the insurgents fighting in Iraq.  [Washington Monthly, 10/2007]

"After eight years of the Bush Administration's incompetence in Iraq, McCain's comments don't give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney.  "Not only is Senator McCain wrong on Iraq once again, but he showed he either doesn't understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground."

McCain Gets Iraq Facts Wrong. "Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran. He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq….Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was 'common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate…' The mistake threatened to undermine McCain's argument that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead a country at war with terrorists." [The Trail blog, WashingtonPost.com, 3/18/08,]