McCain, Obama on same page on Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says he agrees with President Barack Obama's reported plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq.

The Huffington Post reported Thursday that McCain said if he had been elected president he would have made the same decision on a timetable for troop withdrawals, since that is what the nation's military leaders recommended.

The plan is backed by such officials as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gens. Raymond Odierno and David Petraeus.

"I like it best because it's what Ambassador Crocker and General Odierno and General Petraeus also felt was a suitable strategy," McCain said of the president's plan, which Obama has suggested might leave 50,000 combat troops in Iraq.

Critics of the reported plan have suggested any troops remaining in Iraq after a withdrawal would be, by definition, combat troops.

McCain the plan seems to be "a viable strategy."