McCain in Baghdad

This weekend trip to Baghdad by McCain was such a naked publicity stunt that it's hardly worth commenting on, except that the stunt backfired so miserably that it demonstrated how badly things are going in Iraq. It bothers me that McCain used the military so callously simply to lend credence to his offhand remark about being to walk in Baghdad. Once the comment was out in the public and widely criticized, McCain decided to answer the criticism by using, I don't know, thousands and thousands of dollars of taxpayer resources to pull off his stunt. Not to mention the lives of US soldiers he put at risk.

By now everyone has heard the "rest of the story" that the snipers immediately returned to the area after McCain was gone. But Larry Johnson at TMP Cafe tells us even more. He describes how the area was swept ahead of time and then proceeds to let McCain have it. You have to read this:

John McCain and Lindsey Graham put American soldiers' lives at risk just so they could have a photo op. That's the bottomline. Why didn't they do a ride along on a real patrol? Perhaps they could have joined the U.S. team that responded to an ambush of an American patrol yesterday? Of course a total of six U.S. soldiers died in that operation. Shit! You can't take real risks. No sir. Instead, U.S. military resources are devoted to making propaganda. U.S. soldiers were ordered into harms way just to ensure a congressional delegation could walk around, look serious, and perpetuate the lie that more U.S. soldiers must come to Iraq and die. That was a propaganda event and fucking General Petraeus ought to be ashamed.

U.S. soldiers entered the neighborhood before the delegation arrived for its stroll. They searched for explosives, sent informants into the crowd, set up a perimeter, and secured the area before the Senators showed up with their 100 armed guards. And for what? To keep McCain, Graham and others safe. What happened to the Iraqi utopia John McCain so confidently insisted was there for eveyone to see? If the "true" picutre of Iraq was simply a matter of getting the news cameras pointed in the right direction then why did he need a security detail? If the peace and prosperity the Iraqi people are celebrating in safe neighborhoods is genuine then why wear body armor?