The 100 Year Commitment: What the Democrats Aren't Saying

I always thought that one of the most disingenuous parts of Obama's speech was when he lamented that his pastor's remarks had been taken out of context and exploited. The reason that this is disingenuous is because that is exactly what he is doing with McCain's comments about the 100 year commitment. Just today their spat continued. In response to a question that mentioned that President Bush said that our troops maybe in Iraq for 50 years, here is how John McCain responded...

Make it a 100

Now, what the Democrats aren't saying is what followed that response...

We've been in South Korea ... we’ve been in Japan for 60 years, We’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, that’s fine with me. I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Qaeda is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day.

McCain is in fact not only being realistic and practical, but looking out for the best interest of the nation. We have maintained peace in Europe and the Korean peninsula for more than half a century specifically because of American troops. Furthermore, McCain is only willing to make that commitment if American troops are never in any danger. We will likely also maintain such a presence in Afghanistan.

Now, the Democrats would have everyone believe that McCain wants to maintain war for the next hundred years, when in reality he is looking to maintain peace for that long. now, when one side takes a comment so blatantly out of context and tries to make political hay of it, it is almost always because they have no arguement when they don't distort. In fact, what the Democrats are saying is that our policies in Europe and the Korean Peninsula are flawed as well. Would Democrats have us leave from our German bases? What about our positions in Korea? If you examine the Democrats statements carefully, they are questioning the validity of those policies as well.