A McCain Iraq Chronology in Question

By Sarah Wheaton
NYT blog

In an interview Tuesday night with Katie Couric, Senator John McCain scolded Senator Barack Obama for getting his history wrong. But it appears that Mr. McCain might himself have inaccurately described the timing of a scene-changing development in Iraq.

Mr. McCain has been critical of Mr. Obama for refusing to acknowledge that the troop buildup had stabilized conditions in Iraq. Rather, Mr. Obama credited the “awakening,” a movement of Sunni Iraqis patrolling their own neighborhoods to root out extremists and members of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The initiative, backed by the United States, began in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and has since spread throughout the country, including Baghdad.

Here’s the transcript of the exchange in question:

Ms. Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?

Mr. McCain: I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.

But the history appears to be slightly different. The Times’s own reporting suggests the “awakening” began in Anbar in late 2006 – well before President Bush proposed the troop buildup in January 2007 and the arrival of the first extra troops later that month.

(Continued here.)