McCain: Bombs won't slow Iraq withdrawal

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Continued violence in Iraq shouldn't delay the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday.

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," McCain acknowledged that twin car bomb blasts in Baghdad Sunday, which killed at least 136 people, were a "terrible tragedy" but asserted they shouldn't be used as a reason to keep U.S. troops in Iraq longer than currently planned.

While some attacks by Iraqi extremists attempting to spark sectarian strife are serious and continuing, McCain said "they are not sustainable. The majority of the people are opposed to them. And the Iraqi military will be able to handle this transition. But it's not going to be without tragedies such as we've seen just today."

McCain also said the Obama administration should not wait until the presidential election in Afghanistan is sorted out to commit to sending tens of thousands of more troops to that country. "We are not operating in a vacuum now," he said. "he sooner the decision is made, the sooner we get people over there and are able to implement the strategy that will succeed."

The former Republican presidential nominee told CBS that security needs to established in Afghanistan no matter who wins a run-off election.