Arizona Sen. John McCain's Iraq Platform

John McCain's first priority for the War in Iraq is to win it.

"John McCain believes it is strategically and morally essential for the United States to support the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people," McCain's web site says. "He strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before that has occurred."

Al Queda is not yet defeated in Iraq and the Iraqi government has not been stabilized. Nor are the Iraqi people safe from the terrorism of the insurgents. Until these objectives are achieved, McCain believes the mission in Iraq is not done. His vision is for success is "a stable, prosperous, and democratic state in Iraq that poses no threat to its neighbors and contributes to the defeat of terrorists."

Counterinsurgency Strategy
There is no doubt that the military strategy in Iraq was poorly planned, and McCain seems to understand that this exposed US troops to unneccessary casualties from insurgents and extremists. McCain supported the "surge," which helped remedy some of the problems in Iraq and allowed military leaders to implement a well-conceived counterinsurgency strategy. Despite a 70 percent reduction in military and civilian deaths since 2006, insurgency groups are on the rise. Withdrawing troops from Iraq at this critical juncture in the Iraq war would be to essentially hand the country over to al Queda and promote terrorism in Iraq.

Stabilizing Afghanistan
One of the key components to defeating insurgents is eliminating their bases of operations in Afghanistan. To do this, McCain wants to stop treating Afghanistan as a "chess board" and help strengthen its military and its economy. Arresting drug production and replacing poppy crops with equally lucrative and sustainable produce is also important. This kind of assistance would demonstrate America's commitment to Afghanistan and motivate its government to help the war on terror by eliminating insurgent headquarters within its borders.

Promoting Good Government & Building a Sound Economy
In previous years, Saddam Hussein's choking grip on the Iraqi people delivered landslide wins for him in so-called "elections" by margins of 99 percent or more. Opponents were executed and voters who failed to cast ballots for Saddam were beaten, tortured or killed.

Returning trust to the Iraqi electoral process is one of the key goals to establishing a self-sustaining government. Another key goal is a sustainable economy. Without these essential elements, Iraq cannot survive.

Although US troops are necessary to help ensure security and act as catalyst for these monumental changes in Iraq, McCain doesn't believe America should be acting on its own to stabilize the country. McCain has called for more involvement for the international community, and as president, he will continue to seek assistance from America's European allies to help secure the Iraqi government, and he will work with the international community to make trade with Iraq more attractive.

Pressuring Syria & Iran to End Support of Violence
Since Syria and Iran are also strongholds for insurgent bases, McCain believes it is necessary to step up international pressure on these countries to stop their support of violence in Iraq. Iran is responsible for much of the training, weapons and technology used by the insurgents, and, because the country only responds to force, McCain believes bolstering the posture of US military in the region is necessary to demonstrate to Iran that America is committed to finishing the job in Iraq.