An Iraq war veteran who was part of the original invasion force went public yesterday with allegations that Sen. John McCain snubbed the troops when he visited the front lines during the early days of the occupation - while noting that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld routinely met with GIs during repeated visits to the war zone.
Identified only by his first name, Iraq GI Dan described the McCain visit during an unsolicited call to Sean Hannity's ABC Radio Network broadcast - saying he was upset that the Arizona Republican was accusing Rumsfeld of being oblivious to the concerns of troops on the ground.
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"I had to let you know about this because I really don't think too many people know," the GI caller told Hannity. "McCain comes over and we do this whole big reception thing. It's 140-something degrees out. Soldiers are standing at attention outside, waiting for this guy to come."
The Iraq vet said that when McCain finally arrived, he "[didn't] say a single word to any of the soldiers."
Instead, said GI Dan, McCain spent "about five minutes at our safehouse there. And then he leaves - he didn't talk to a single soldier that was actually there. ... He didn't ask a single one of us anything."
The Iraq GI said it's much different when Rumsfeld visits Iraq.
"Every time [he] has gone over there - whether it's Afghanistan, Iraq, wherever - he's always made a point of talking to as many soldiers as he can; from a private, a low-ranking soldier, all the way up [the chain of command]."
Here's a full transcript of GI Dan's eye-opening comments to Sean Hannity:
I had to let you know about this because I really don't think too many people know about this.
I just got out of the army a little while ago. I was in Northern Iraq when we first jumped in, in March of 2003. Northern Iraq is probably a third of Iraq's oil.
John McCain comes over - and this is the thing that's killing me with him right now - McCain comes over and we do this whole big reception thing. It's 140-something degrees out. Soldiers are standing at attention outside, waiting for this guy to come.
He comes in - doesn't say a single word to any of the soldiers. He spends about five minutes at our safehouse there. And then he leaves - he didn't talk to a single soldier that was actually there.
All he wanted to see were the reports from the Northern Oil company there and how the company was going to deal with terrorist attacks on the pipeline leaving there. ...
Every time Rumsfeld has gone over there - whether it's Afghanistan, Iraq, wherever - he's always made a point of talking to as many soldiers as he can; from a private, a low-ranking soldier all the way up. McCain goes over there and he didn't find out anything from my soldiers, which were in a completely unique position.
We held the area that the Northern Oil Company was located in. We dealt with all the problems with terrorist attacks there. And he didn't ask a single one of us anything.
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