Sen. John McCain clarified his incendiary comment that illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border had set wildfires burning in Arizona. Appearing this morning on NBC's "Today" show, the Arizona Republican said he was not talking about the current fires burning in his home state.
"I was not referring to the Wallow fire," McCain said, adding that he was briefed by U.S. Forest Service officials, who told him illegal immigrants sometimes are responsible for the fires.
"We all know that people who come across our border illegally, according to the Forest Service, according to Border Patrol, according to the local sheriffs and law enforcement agents, [and] that these fires are sometimes, some of them, have been caused by this," McCain said on NBC's morning talk show.
McCain's initial comment on the subject ignited outrage among Hispanic-Americans.
"I'm puzzled over that there should be any controversy since the Forest Service is on record as saying what I just repeated because I had been briefed on that just an hour or so before the press conference that we held," McCain said.
Showing posts with label Sen. John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sen. John McCain. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Floods Along Missouri & Western Wildfires Uproot Americans
People are hurting here in America -- again.
Authorities are evacuating folks along the Missouri River as floodwaters breach Iowa levees and put a second nuclear power plant in Nebraska on alert, while raging wildfires in Texas and Arizona forced even more Americans to flee their homes.
But in what can only be described as a bizarre blame-game accusation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) insisted over the weekend and again this morning that some wildfires in Arizona were sparked by illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.
"I was briefed by the Forest Service about the fact that illegal immigrants sometimes start these fires," he said on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show this morning.
McCain did little to back up his claim, other than to cite the The Los Angeles Times, but the newspaper reported today that it did not know what article the lawmaker was referring to on the Imus program.
The Arizona Republic has details of the damage caused by two separate wildfires in its state.
The Houston Chronicle has a comprehensive rundown today of the fires sweeping through Texas.
Meanwhile, Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Neb. issued the lowest level alert when floodwaters along the Missouri River reached 42.5 feet, but plant officials claim the public is not at risk and as of now it is unlikely the facility will have to to shut down.
The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant 20 miles north of Omaha issued the same alert two weeks ago, but it has been off line since April for refueling.
Some towns along the Missouri have been evacuated since heavy rains forced the Army Corps of Engineers to release water upstream to take the pressure off of dams and avoid a larger catastrophe. People are accusing the floods of being a man-made event, but with heavy rains in the forecast the engineers said they had no choice but to release water.
The Associated Press has a report on the flood damage in Iowa and Nebraska.
Authorities are evacuating folks along the Missouri River as floodwaters breach Iowa levees and put a second nuclear power plant in Nebraska on alert, while raging wildfires in Texas and Arizona forced even more Americans to flee their homes.
But in what can only be described as a bizarre blame-game accusation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) insisted over the weekend and again this morning that some wildfires in Arizona were sparked by illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.
"I was briefed by the Forest Service about the fact that illegal immigrants sometimes start these fires," he said on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show this morning.
McCain did little to back up his claim, other than to cite the The Los Angeles Times, but the newspaper reported today that it did not know what article the lawmaker was referring to on the Imus program.
The Arizona Republic has details of the damage caused by two separate wildfires in its state.
The Houston Chronicle has a comprehensive rundown today of the fires sweeping through Texas.
Meanwhile, Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Neb. issued the lowest level alert when floodwaters along the Missouri River reached 42.5 feet, but plant officials claim the public is not at risk and as of now it is unlikely the facility will have to to shut down.
The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant 20 miles north of Omaha issued the same alert two weeks ago, but it has been off line since April for refueling.
Some towns along the Missouri have been evacuated since heavy rains forced the Army Corps of Engineers to release water upstream to take the pressure off of dams and avoid a larger catastrophe. People are accusing the floods of being a man-made event, but with heavy rains in the forecast the engineers said they had no choice but to release water.
The Associated Press has a report on the flood damage in Iowa and Nebraska.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Mass Military Defections Reported in Libya
Eight senior Libyan officers announced today they defected from Moammar Gadhafi's military, offering to join the rebel cause.
The five generals, two colonels and a major appeared at a news conference in Rome amid reports that about 120 other soldiers and officers have abandoned Gadhafi in the last few days.
"The people around him and the aides and people who are fighting for him are diminishing; some are deserting," rebel spokesman Guma al-Gamati told the BBC.
Libyan rebels pushed west of Misurata today, reportedly getting the help of at least a half-dozen unidentified Western operatives caught on camera by Al Jazeera in Libya.
It was not known where the operatives are from, though there have been reports of French and British target-spotters and liaison officers on the ground "advising" the Libyan rebels. The Guardian of London picked up on the Al Jazeera report (link includes the video report).
The defections came as South African President Jacob Zuma met today with Gadhafi in Tripoli to discuses an end to the conflict, even though the rebels have rejected every offer so far for failing to guarantee Gadhafi will go. The rebels held out little hope Zuma's mission would meet those terms.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) predicted this weekend that the end may be near for Gadhafi, though he contends more American firepower would have pushed him out sooner. McCain has called on the Obama administration to maintain an unrelenting assault, as was the case when the mission was in the hands of the U.S. Africa Command in the early days of the campaign.
"Gadhafi may crack. He may crack," McCain (R-Ariz.) said on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "But this thing could have been over a long time ago if we had brought the full weight of American air power to bear on him, and it is unfortunate."
The five generals, two colonels and a major appeared at a news conference in Rome amid reports that about 120 other soldiers and officers have abandoned Gadhafi in the last few days.
"The people around him and the aides and people who are fighting for him are diminishing; some are deserting," rebel spokesman Guma al-Gamati told the BBC.
Libyan rebels pushed west of Misurata today, reportedly getting the help of at least a half-dozen unidentified Western operatives caught on camera by Al Jazeera in Libya.
It was not known where the operatives are from, though there have been reports of French and British target-spotters and liaison officers on the ground "advising" the Libyan rebels. The Guardian of London picked up on the Al Jazeera report (link includes the video report).
The defections came as South African President Jacob Zuma met today with Gadhafi in Tripoli to discuses an end to the conflict, even though the rebels have rejected every offer so far for failing to guarantee Gadhafi will go. The rebels held out little hope Zuma's mission would meet those terms.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) predicted this weekend that the end may be near for Gadhafi, though he contends more American firepower would have pushed him out sooner. McCain has called on the Obama administration to maintain an unrelenting assault, as was the case when the mission was in the hands of the U.S. Africa Command in the early days of the campaign.
"Gadhafi may crack. He may crack," McCain (R-Ariz.) said on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "But this thing could have been over a long time ago if we had brought the full weight of American air power to bear on him, and it is unfortunate."
Friday, April 22, 2011
McCain Assessing Libyan Rebels
Updated at 4:45 p.m. edt
The White House knew ahead of time that Sen. John McCain was taking a surprise trip to Libya and welcomes his outreach to the Libyan rebels.
However, the Obama administration showed no signs of meeting McCain's request that the United States join Italy, France and Qatar in recognizing the rebels Transitional National Council as the official government of Libya.
"We think it’s for the people of Libya to decide who the head of their country is, not for the United States to do that," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
McCain wants President Obama to release some of the $33 billion in frozen Libyan government assets to the rebels. But until the rebels are recognized, it makes it tricky to hand over any of Gadhafi's frozen billions of dollars to the rebels.
Obama is expected to turn over $25 million worth of "nonlethal" surplus military equipment once Obama signs off on the proposal. Secretary of State Hillarey Clinton recommended to Obama that he send the rebels the surpass supplies.
end update
---[
Updated 1 p.m. edt
Sen. John McCain today called on the United States to recognize the Libyan rebel government and urged President Obama to release some of the $33 billion in frozen assets belonging to Moammar Gadhafi and others in Libya.
McCain received a hero's welcome in the nominal rebel capital of Benghazi, as did Obama's decision to deploy armed predator drones in the skies over Libya. The rebels told McCain the predators were a welcomed addition in the fight against Gadhafi's forces.
"He certainly raised the spirits of the rebels here in Benghazi," MSNBC's Richard Engel reported from Benghazi. "People here hope this will be the start of more military involvement from the United States."
In a rare victory for the insugents, hundreds of rebel fighters yesterday captured a remote border post near Tunisia, sending Gadhafi forces fleeing.
Meanwhile, here in Washington there are some murmurs over fears that the predators represent mission creep for the U.S. The Pentagon rejected the charge, emphasizing that the U.S. remains opposed to putting military boots on the ground.
end update
---[
Sen. John McCain made a surprise visit overnight to Benghazi "to get an on-the-ground assessment of the situation" in Libya and meet with the rebel Transition National Council.
"They are my heroes," the Associated Press quoted McCain as saying of the rebels as he emerged from a Benghazi hotel.
McCain, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in favor of arming the Libyan rebels, but he has been critical of NATO's handling of the air campaign since the United States turned over command to the alliance.
Meanwhile, the first predator drone attack in Libya was aborted yesterday because of lousy weather. NATO warplanes, however, struck targets overnight outside of the besieged city of Misurata.
The White House knew ahead of time that Sen. John McCain was taking a surprise trip to Libya and welcomes his outreach to the Libyan rebels.
However, the Obama administration showed no signs of meeting McCain's request that the United States join Italy, France and Qatar in recognizing the rebels Transitional National Council as the official government of Libya.
"We think it’s for the people of Libya to decide who the head of their country is, not for the United States to do that," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
McCain wants President Obama to release some of the $33 billion in frozen Libyan government assets to the rebels. But until the rebels are recognized, it makes it tricky to hand over any of Gadhafi's frozen billions of dollars to the rebels.
Obama is expected to turn over $25 million worth of "nonlethal" surplus military equipment once Obama signs off on the proposal. Secretary of State Hillarey Clinton recommended to Obama that he send the rebels the surpass supplies.
end update
---[
Updated 1 p.m. edt
Sen. John McCain today called on the United States to recognize the Libyan rebel government and urged President Obama to release some of the $33 billion in frozen assets belonging to Moammar Gadhafi and others in Libya.
McCain received a hero's welcome in the nominal rebel capital of Benghazi, as did Obama's decision to deploy armed predator drones in the skies over Libya. The rebels told McCain the predators were a welcomed addition in the fight against Gadhafi's forces.
"He certainly raised the spirits of the rebels here in Benghazi," MSNBC's Richard Engel reported from Benghazi. "People here hope this will be the start of more military involvement from the United States."
In a rare victory for the insugents, hundreds of rebel fighters yesterday captured a remote border post near Tunisia, sending Gadhafi forces fleeing.
Meanwhile, here in Washington there are some murmurs over fears that the predators represent mission creep for the U.S. The Pentagon rejected the charge, emphasizing that the U.S. remains opposed to putting military boots on the ground.
end update
---[
Sen. John McCain made a surprise visit overnight to Benghazi "to get an on-the-ground assessment of the situation" in Libya and meet with the rebel Transition National Council.
"They are my heroes," the Associated Press quoted McCain as saying of the rebels as he emerged from a Benghazi hotel.
McCain, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in favor of arming the Libyan rebels, but he has been critical of NATO's handling of the air campaign since the United States turned over command to the alliance.
Meanwhile, the first predator drone attack in Libya was aborted yesterday because of lousy weather. NATO warplanes, however, struck targets overnight outside of the besieged city of Misurata.
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