ARIZONA VILLAGE ... MISSING AN IDIOT?

We've been in Iraq for five years now (happy anniversary) and John McCain comes out with this stupidity.

... [it] has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate.

What's "unfortunate" is that John McCain doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

Look, Iran is helping out Shiite extremists. The al Qaeda nutjobs in Iraq - who weren't there before the war - are predominantly Sunnis, with most of them coming from states that are supposed to be our allies (like Saudi Arabia). Sunnis think Shiites are apostates.

If we left, the Iranians would help the Shiites and the Saudis would help the Sunnis in Iraq. We might even see a full scale regional conflagration, which the Saudis tell us would happen (Keep in mind the Saudis have their own motives for wanting to keep us in Iraq. Without us, the radical nutjobs would be going after their corrupt and kleptocratic regime. That's right. Our military is seen as cannon fodder by the Saudi kleptocrats. This is why they tell us the place would fall apart if we leave).

But, to be fair, why should McCain know any of this? I mean, he's only had five years to study the issues. Who could possibly bone up on the facts in such a short time span? Especially when he's so busy running for president.

In case you're wondering, it wasn't a gaffe. He made the reference more than once. And this is not the first time he's done this. He really doesn't know what's going on in Iraq, or the Middle East. This helps to explain why he thinks walking around Baghdad with a flak jacket, a contingent of U.S. forces, and Blackhawk helicopters hovering around him constitutes a secure city.

No wonder he says it's OK to stay in Iraq 100 years. He's going to need that long to figure out what's going on.

- Mark

P.S. This guy says McCain's gaffe isn't really a mistake. He's doing it on purpose. Either way, it shows McCain's not fit to lead.