BAGHDAD (AFP) — Republican White House hopeful John McCain said on Monday it was important to maintain a US presence in Iraq because Al-Qaeda, though on the run in the war-torn country, was not yet defeated.
"Withdrawal? What that means is that Al-Qaeda wins," McCain told CNN in an interview while on a visit to Baghdad.
"Their dedication is to follow us home," he added. "They're on the run but they're not defeated."
He defended a "surge" of an extra 30,000 American troops in Iraq from June last year, which US commanders say has been a key factor in reducing the levels of violence across Iraq by about 60 percent.
"Large areas of Baghdad are safe," said McCain, who arrived in the Iraqi capital on Sunday.
The Democrats were "dead wrong" to argue last year that the war was lost, he added.
Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, he said, lacked understanding of what is really happening in Iraq.
"She obviously does not understand nor appreciate the progress that's been made on the ground. The surge is working," he said.
McCain, who had previously said the US presence in Iraq could last 100 years, told ABC television that if the point is reached where American casualties could be eliminated, "Americans will be satisfied with (an) American presence here."
"When I said 100 years it was obviously after the war is over. I understand politics but that was very, very misconstrued when I said that. We've been in Germany for 60 years."
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