John doesn't know what he's talking about ... and why that might be important

Behind a Gaffe: Is Sen. McCain's Expertise in Foreign Policy Expired?

by Omid Mermarian

Senator McCain relies strongly on foreign policy experience for two significant reasons; firstly, it masks his incapability to address the most important national issues such as the economy, health care, education and immigration.

Secondly, his campaign hides behind his patriotic rhetoric and focuses on his heroic past, masking his mediocre knowledge and judgment about the most important (foreign policy) issues facing the US including the war in Iraq and the Middle East crisis.

This week's glaring example was Senator McCain's blunder about alleging that Iranians are training Al-Qaeda (one of their most hated enemies) in Iran -a "Gaffe" as the Washington Post and other media outlets called it.

Any novice in politics who follows the news from the Middle East (which has dramatically increased since 9/11) knows that Shiite Iranians are thorough enemies of the Sunni Al-Qaeda. In fact, one of the reasons that Iranians supported the US in attacking Afghanistan in 2002 was the strong alliance between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The rest after the click ...

My comment:

If you don't know who the enemies are and how they relate to each other, how can you make appropriate judgments about how to fight them (much less how to win against them).

The most dynamic work ever written dealing with war, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, written 300 years before the birth of Christ, frequently underscores that knowledge of the enemy as one of the primary pillars of achieving victory. If you do no know the enemy, you cannot prevail. It's as simple as that.