According to former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, the candidates’ position on last year’s troop surge is irrelevant. Today, he wrote in the Denver Post, “Arguing about who was right or wrong in 2003 or even who was right or wrong about the surge has little bearing on the question of what do we do today, moving forward.” Sen. Kerrey couldn’t be more wrong. Sen. McCain advocated the troop increase last year at a time when public support for the Iraq War had reached its lowest levels and politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were waving the proverbial white flag of defeat.
The fact is that the troop surge increased security throughout Iraq, setting the conditions for political progress. Sen. McCain put his political career on the line and supported the surge not because it was politically popular but because it was the right thing to do for the country. It is a testament to his leadership and illustrates why he’d be an effective commander-in-chief. As for 2003, Sen. Obama was not yet in the United States Senate so he had the luxury of opining on the issue of war without having to vote on it. The notion that his opposition to the war illustrates his tremendous grasp of grand strategy is ill-conceived.