Last month, President Obama expanded the role of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and signaled he may defer any additional year-end drawdown from the 9,800 troops currently there. But to make sure the previously planned reduction does not take place, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are launching their own preemptive strikes against Obama now. But just days after announcing "Barack Obama is directly responsible" for the slaughter at an Orlando night club, McCain told a Pakistani television network that he blames President Obama for the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
But if John McCain really wants to point fingers, he should look in the mirror. After all, it wasn't just that McCain was perhaps the most ardent supporter for redirecting U.S. military and intelligence assets from Afghanistan to the calamitous--and unnecessary--invasion of Iraq. As it turns out, by mid-2003 McCain was already declaring the war in Afghanistan won.
As ThinkProgress helpfully recalled, John McCain suffered from repeated bouts of premature emancipation starting in the spring of 2003:
"Nobody in Afghanistan threatens the United States of America." [Hannity & Colmes, 4/10/03]"The facts on the ground are we went to Afghanistan and we prevailed there." [Wolf Blitzer Reports, 4/1/04]
"Could I add, it was in Afghanistan, as well, there were many people who predicted that Afghanistan would not be a success. So far, it's a remarkable success." [CNN, 3/2/05]
"Afghanistan, we don't read about anymore, because it's succeeded." [Charlie Rose Show, 10/31/05]
Now in McCain's revisionist history, the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban magically un-succeeded in the intervening decade. And somehow, it's all America's fault under Barack Obama: