Obama Administration

NEW YORK (AP) ― Avoiding casualties in Iraq is more important than bringing troops home, Republican John McCain said Wednesday, feeding an outcry from Democrats who quickly declared him to be out of touch with the public and the needs of the military.

Appearing on NBC's "Today Show," McCain was asked if he has a better estimate for when U.S. troops could leave Iraq.

"No, but that's not too important," McCain said. "What's important is casualties in Iraq.

"Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan. American troops are in Germany. That's all fine. American casualties, and the ability to withdraw. We will be able to withdraw. ... But the key to it is we don't want any more Americans in harm's way."

The answer was in keeping with McCain's long-stated argument that as Iraqis take more control of security in their country, the number of killed and wounded U.S. soldiers should decline. He has said he could envision troops withdrawing around 2013 but has refused to fix a date.

Among the first to respond was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"McCain's statement today that withdrawing troops doesn't matter is a crystal-clear indicator that he just doesn't get the grave national-security consequences of staying the course. Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished," Reid said in a statement. "We need a smart change in strategy to make America more secure, not a commitment to indefinitely keep our troops in an intractable civil war."

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a former presidential candidate, equated McCain to President Bush and said, "It is long past time to refocus our foreign policy on the many challenges we face, not just Iraq."

"Senator McCain's comment is evidence that he is totally out of touch with the needs of our troops and the national security needs of our nation," Biden said. "I think many of our brave soldiers and their families would disagree that it's not too important when they come home.

"He can't tell us when, or even if, this war will end," Biden said.

Also in the NBC interview, McCain said record high prices for gasoline probably won't drop before the November election.

"I don't think it's going much lower, and it could go higher," McCain said. "I don't think so, not when you've got a finite supply, basically, and a cartel controlling it."

Although the GOP presidential candidate didn't address the question of raising taxes on oil companies, he said the companies "absolutely" should return some profits to consumers. "And they should be embarking on research and development that will pay off in reducing our dependence on foreign oil," he said.

"The point is, oil companies have got to be more participatory in alternate energy, in sharing their profits in a variety of ways, and there is very strong and justifiable emotion about their profits," McCain said.

The issue of oil company profits came up this week in the Senate, where Republicans stopped the Democrats from imposing a tax on windfall profits and taking away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the $4-a-gallon price of gas.

In the past, McCain has indicated he would consider such a tax proposal, saying he didn't want to see companies making "obscene profits" that distort the market.

McCain used the opportunity to bring up his proposal for a gas tax holiday that would suspend the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, a proposal that Democratic rival Barack Obama dismisses as a gimmick. Critics say that cutting the price would only increase demand, which would lead to higher prices again.

"Look what's happened to Americans who are on a fixed income, particularly low-income Americans — that's why I wanted to give them a little break," McCain said. "They drive the furthest. They drive the automobiles that use the most gasoline. I wanted to give them a little break for the summer."

In the interview, McCain said President Bush's strategy to increase the number of troops in Iraq last year is working. McCain has been an ardent supporter of the Iraq war, but he criticized the early handling of the war, saying Bush did not send enough troops initially. In fact, he challenged the characterization that the strategy of increasing troop levels was Bush's: "May I correct that statement? I advocated the surge policy before President Bush."

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