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McCain: Iraq troop withdrawal a mistake

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks to reporters after to voting on Senator Reid's debt plan on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on July 31, 2011. The Senate blocked ReidÕs debt ceiling plan 246 to 173. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks to reporters after to voting on Senator Reid's debt plan on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on July 31, 2011. The Senate blocked ReidÕs debt ceiling plan 246 to 173. UPI/Kevin Dietsch 
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Published: Oct. 23, 2011 at 12:16 PM

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday President Obama's promise to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year is a "serious mistake."

McCain said the Obama administration never had serious negotiations with Iraqis to keep residual forces in the country and cited Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's threat to target embassy personnel once troops leave.

"We should have backed (former Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi a lot more. We should have become engaged back then after their elections, which, frankly, due to our ambassador at the time and the State Department, we didn't engage," the 2008 GOP presidential nominee said in an interview on ABC's "This Week."

McCain said a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq could leave the door open for Iranian influence in the unstable region.

"In my view, this can lead to Iranian influence in Iraq through Sadr, and (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-) Maliki, I think, is leaning more and more towards alliances with Iran," he said.

Topics: John McCain
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