McCain: ‘False’ For Obama To Say There Are No Boots On The Ground In Iraq

U.S. Sen. John McCain campaigns for GOP senate candidate Ed Gillespie, right, at VFW Post 4809 in Norfolk, Va. on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Stephen M. Katz)
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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Wednesday evening that contrary to what President Barack Obama has promised, there are already American combat boots on the ground in Iraq.

“We do have combat boots on the ground. Him saying that we don’t is absolutely false,” the senator told Phoenix radio station KFYI. “As you now, we already have 1,100. They’re sending 475. We need more.”

McCain spoke with radio host Mike Broomhead following Obama’s primetime speech addressing the Islamic militant group ISIS. The President laid out a four-point strategy for combating the group that did not include American troops fighting on foreign soil, but he did announce that an additional 475 service members would be dispatched to support Iraqi forces.

There are already more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq either providing diplomatic security or supporting joint operating centers, according to the Associated Press.

“To say there are not boots on the ground, I guarantee you those guys over there are getting combat pay,” McCain told Broomhead. “And I’ll bet you they’re in harms way. So the President is not telling the American people the truth about that.”

McCain, who has long argued that a residual force should have been left behind when the U.S. ended the Iraq War, added that he supported sending more troops to Iraq in a strictly supportive role.

Listen below via KFYI:

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