When facts and fiction meet on Meet The Press. Arlen Parsa caught McCain not being honest with Russert about the statements Gen. Jones made on MTP about his Iraq Report. McCain keeps screaming " The SURGE IS WORKING," but there is no political progress so the surge has failed in its purpose and that's what Jones said. But not according to McCain.
Download John McCain incorrectly claimed that General Jones did not conclude in his recent Iraq report that political reconciliation needed to happen before a drawdown in violence can be achieved:
MCCAIN: Tim, I’ve known Jim Jones for 30 years. That’s not what he’s saying.
Let's go to the video tape. There's a mash up of two MTP segments. You never see Russert cut off a quest to make a point, but he did to the straight shooter because he wasn't shooting straight. (Sorry, I had to say it.)
September 9th: MR. RUSSERT: … The president has been saying we need to have security on the ground before we can have political reconciliation. And you’re saying, your commission, “No, no, no. You need to have political reconciliation. You need to have the Shiites and the Sunnis to put their guns down, put their arms down and come together as a country before we could ever possibly secure the nation.” Fair?
GEN. JONES: Fair. Our, our report started out with that assertion, and it closed with that assertion, that that is, that is the most important thing. Obviously both—you want both. But if, if we were to pick one or the other, which one is more critical, we think the reconciliation is absolutely the key to measurable and rapid progress. I think once you have that the, the, what’s likely to happen in Iraq is very encouraging.
