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Retired general rips McCain Iraq policy

SANTA FE, N.M. — A retired Air Force general lashed out at Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain on Thursday, suggesting that McCain’s policy on Iraq stemmed from a “lack of adequate psychological care” after his service in Vietnam. The incident occurred during a campaign stop for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, as Obama’s wife, Michelle, met with wives of servicemen who have served in Iraq.

Retired Air Force Gen. Melvyn Montano, the former head of the New Mexico National Guard, recalled a statement by McCain that there could be a U.S. troop presence in Iraq for 100 years.

“I don’t understand his position. I can attribute it probably to some of the things we’ve talked about here — lack of adequate psychological care,” said Montano, who then grinned and chuckled as the crowd roared.

Obama’s campaign distanced itself from comments. Michelle Obama made no response onstage after Montano’s statement.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton later issued a statement: “Barack and Michelle Obama have repeatedly honored John McCain’s service and strongly disagree with these views.”

McCain was a Navy pilot and spent 5½ years as a Vietnam prisoner of war after he was shot down.

Montano’s remarks were prompted by McCain speculating that there ultimately could be a non-combat U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to that in South Korea, potentially lasting for many years.

McCain contends Democrats have distorted his “100 years” remark and that he was referring to a possible peacekeeping force — not a decades-long war.

The McCain campaign issued a statement by Col. Barry Howard, state chairman of Vets for McCain, who said Montano’s “remarks were unbecoming of an officer, out of line and disrespectful to a fellow officer who has sacrificed so much for his country.”

Montano, who served in Vietnam and was adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard from 1994 to 1999, described the fighting in Iraq as “pure carnage.”

“The war is over. We did achieve victory. What we have now is occupation,” Montano said. “We have achieved victory. And it’s not a football game. You don’t have to win ... at all costs. There are lives at stake and it’s pure carnage.”

Michelle Obama pledged, in a round-table discussion with five women whose spouses had been deployed overseas, that her husband, if elected, would improve services for military families, including mental health treatment for those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Natasha Padilla said her husband, a police officer in Las Vegas, N.M., struggled to adjust after returning from Iraq with the National Guard.

“You’re lying in bed across from the person you love but it’s not him,” she said, crying.

Padilla recommended mandatory psychological evaluations for returning veterans.

Michelle Obama said the difficulties Padilla and others faced were “part of the cost of the war” and she suggested many Americans were unaware of the problems confronting military families.

“I would bet you that the vast majority of the families out there who are not part of the military have no idea of what you all are going through but would be sympathetic ... if they knew,” she said.