Subject: [big campaign] Exclusive: McCain Gaffe On Status of Forces Agreement Raises More Questions About Iraq Knowledge
From: "Adam Jentleson (CAPAF)" <[email-masked]>
To: "big campaign" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:28:43 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

New from the Wonk Room.

http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/06/12/mccain-sofa-bosnia/

Exclusive: McCain Gaffe On Status of Forces Agreement Raises More
Questions About Iraq Knowledge
<http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/06/12/mccain-sofa-bosnia/> 

Our guest blogger is Adam Jentleson
<http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus/staff/JentlesonAdam.html> , the
Communications and Outreach Director for the Hyde Park Project at the
Center for American Progress Action Fund.

In all the hubbub over his comments that withdrawing U.S. troops from
Iraq was "not important
<http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/11/timing_of_iraq_troo
p_withdrawa.html> ," McCain still hasn't taken a clear position on the
status of forces agreement (SOFA) currently being negotiated
<http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSCOL951578>  between
the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

Maybe this is because McCain lacks familiarity with the topic. Earlier
this year, he gaffed when George Stephanopoulos asked him
<http://www.abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/story?id=4304502&page=1>  about the
SOFA:

	STEPHANOPOULOS: President Bush is also negotiating a long-term
status of forces agreement with Iraq. Both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama
say that agreement has to come to the Congress.

	MCCAIN: It wouldn't bother me to bring it to the Congress. I
don't think that's a huge deal. We have status of forces...

	STEPHANOPOULOS: President Bush says he doesn't want to, though.

	MCCAIN: Well, look, if we succeed in Iraq, which I believe we
are, the rest of it takes care of itself. We have status of force
agreements with a number of countries that have never been approved by
Congress; we have some others that have been approved by Congress.

	STEPHANOPOULOS: But the big ones, Korea was approved by
Congress.

	MCCAIN: Yes, but we have some countries - we're still in Bosnia.
We don't have a status of forces agreement there, as I recall. We have -
look...

Problem is, the U.S. does have
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/57270.htm>  a status of forces
agreement with Bosnia.

Perhaps McCain was thinking of another example of a country where we
have a long-term troop presence but no SOFA. If not, he may need to come
up with another answer to the question.

In theory, McCain should welcome questions about his stance on the SOFA.
The SOFA is a binding legal agreement setting the terms for the U.S.
presence in Iraq in the years to come. It's necessary because the UN
mandate authorizing the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq expires at the
end of this year, and it will put on paper the answers to major
questions like, how many bases will we have in Iraq? Will they be
permanent or temporary? Who will be in charge of the Iraqi security
forces? How many U.S. troops will be stationed in Iraq? What will their
mission be, and how long will they be there?

So if McCain truly does not think it's "not important" when we withdraw
U.S. troops, and if he truly does not want us to be in Iraq for 100
years <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFknKVjuyNk> , then this should be
the perfect vehicle for him to explain, in concrete terms, his vision
for the U.S. presence in Iraq in the coming years.

But maybe he still needs some time to bone up on the issue.

-----
Adam Jentleson
Communications and Outreach Director
The Hyde Park Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
202-247-8614

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