A Call to Arms Is Made Here By McCain

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The New York Sun

Senator McCain is signaling that in shaping his foreign policy platform for a 2008 presidential campaign, he will carry President Bush’s message of promoting freedom and democracy abroad.

Taking his presidential exploratory tour to New York last night, Mr. McCain offered a defense of the Bush doctrine at a time when it is facing criticism from members of both parties who say America’s policy in Iraq is unrealistic.

Mr. McCain, who has emerged as a leading contender for the Republican nomination in 2008, said the promotion of democracy in the region is crucial, even at the risk of anti-American regimes rising to power through the electoral process.

“If the alternative to our democracy promotion efforts is a return to the days in which we simply supported pro-American dictators throughout the Middle East, I say this cost is too high,” Mr. McCain said.

“If the despair, the alienation, and the disenfranchisement wrought in Middle East autocracies contribute to the horrors of international terrorism, we owe it to ourselves and the world to promote change,” the Arizona senator said in a speech to more than 800 Jewish leaders and philanthropists at the Waldorf Astoria.

A bipartisan commission headed by a former State secretary, James Baker III, and a former Indiana congressman, Lee Hamilton, urged a major shift in Iraq policy, including a diplomatic offensive, a tougher approach with the Iraq government, and for America to “begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly.”

Mr. McCain did not directly rebuke the panel’s report, but he cautioned against a “precipitous American troop withdrawal.”

“The Iraqi security forces are today plainly incapable of handling operations on their own,” he said. “If U.S. forces begin a pullout, we risk all-out civil war and the emergence of a failed state in the heart of the Middle East.”

Mr. McCain did not call for an increase in troop deployment, as he has done recently.

He spoke at the Yeshiva University winter convocation, a black-tie affair that has become an annual opportunity for leaders on the national stage to voice strong support for Israel. Senator Clinton gave the keynote address last year, and past honorees have included Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, President Reagan and Vice President Gore.

Large segments of Mr. McCain’s speech were identical to those in a speech he delivered in October to the annual summit of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Houston.

Characterizing a nuclear Iran as an “existential threat to the state of Israel,” Mr. McCain said “every option must remain on the table” when dealing with the regime in Tehran, which he called “possible deranged and surely dangerous.” Military action, he said, should be a last resort, but he added that the only thing worse than armed conflict would be a nuclear-armed Iran.

Mr. McCain said America couldn’t have normal relations with a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, drawing applause as he pledged that America would stand with Israel in the fight against terrorism. He also said he welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, but he cautioned that it was simply a “mere pause” in the fighting. “There is one bottom line,” he said. “To achieve peace, sooner or later, Hezbollah must be disarmed.”

After his speech, Mr. McCain was headed uptown to have dinner with Mayor Bloomberg, a man whose possible entry into the 2008 mix could complicate the senator’s White House run. The two have shared a reputation as Republicans with an independent streak, but Mr. Bloomberg, who has distanced himself from the party on some issues in the past year, suggested recently that Mr. McCain was “very conservative.”

New York has been a revolving door of presidential contenders from both major parties in recent weeks. Mr. McCain’s speech came days after Senator Obama spoke at a children’s charity benefit and met with prominent city donors, including George Soros.

While Mr. Obama appeared in New Hampshire yesterday, Senator Clinton has been talking privately with party leaders about her own possible presidential bid, a spokeswoman, Lorraine Voles, said. She has a meeting scheduled with Iowa leaders this week and may also meet with some Democrats from New Hampshire.

Mrs. Clinton received a vote of support from Senator Schumer at a meeting on Friday, and she also is reportedly set to meet with union leaders from the International Association of Firefighters and the Service Employees International Union.

Governor Pataki is also weighing what many contend would be a long shot bid for the White House. With three weeks left in office, Mr. Pataki got an early initiation into the club of former governors, giving a tour of Ground Zero yesterday to ex-leaders of Massachusetts, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Iowa. Mr. Pataki said he would decide on a presidential run early next year, and he got words of encouragement from the former governors of South Carolina and Iowa, where early ballots are cast.

The former South Carolina governor, David Beasley, said Mr. Pataki was well received when he traveled to the state earlier this year. The former Iowa governor, Terry Branstad, heralded Mr. Pataki’s support of alternative energy sources, including ethanol, which is a key issue in that battleground state. Neither governor endorsed Mr. Pataki’s candidacy. Governor Weld of Massachusetts and Governor Sundquist of Tennessee also attended.


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