US Senator and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain on Tuesday said that failure to secure a clear military victory in Iraq would only further embolden the shared enemies of America and Israel.
McCain was speaking at a Washington, DC pro-Israel rally put on by Christians United for Israel and attended by more than 4,000 people.
He told the enthusiastic crowd that the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the war in Iraq had significantly increased the threat to both Israel and the US by encouraging Islamic jihadists and their state sponsors in the Middle East, reported The Jerusalem Post.
Contrary to the positions of Democratic presidential hopefuls, McCain said the solution is to fully unleash the US military and give it a real chance to win.
“It's all connected in my view... if we bring about a secure environment in Iraq, then that will have a beneficial effect on the Iranians and the Syrians and of course, on the security of this tiny little nation [Israel] which now has a terrorist organization running Gaza, and a terrorist organization in southern Lebanon, and is literally surrounded by enemies bent on its destruction,” said the popular senator.
McCain stressed that if America is unable to help defend Israel, it will ultimately be unable to defend itself against the Islamic onslaught.