McCain denies he misstated timing of Iraq surge : Republican John McCain pushed back on Tuesday against Democratic criticism that he misstated the troop buildup ordered by President Bush began, saying elements were put in place before Bush announced the strategy in early 2007. He told reporters during an unscheduled stop in a super market that, what the Bush administration calls "the surge" was actually "made up of a number of components," some of which began before the president's order for more troops. It's all a matter of semantics, he suggested. McCain said Army Col. Sean MacFarland started carrying out elements of a new counterinsurgency strategy as early as December 2006. At issue are McCain's comments in a Tuesday interview with CBS. The Arizona senator disputed Democrat Barack Obama's contention that a Sunni revolt...
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