Republican presidential candidate John McCain says it’s time to isolate Iran and demand more of U.S. allies in the Middle East. "The rise of Iranian power and America’s renewed commitment to a resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian dispute gives us more in common with our Arab allies," McCain said last night during a foreign policy address in Des Moines.
According to McCain, the U.S. has significant "shared interests" that should be pursued with Mid-East powers."With Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the Gulf states, our diplomacy must forge a coalition that links the future of a cohesive, strong Iraq to a broader strategy to prevent the extension of an Iranian sphere of influence into the heart of the Arab world," McCain said.
McCain accused Egypt of being "missing in action" while he said Saudi Arabia has sponsored Sunni insurgents and both countries, McCain said, must be pressured to do more to stabilize Iraq.
"If, a decade from now, Iraq has a representative government that controls all its terroritory, has reconstituted its potentially-dynamic economy and has emerged as a constructive regional leader — that Iraq would balance Iranian power and influence its neighbors in the direction of liberal reform," McCain said.
McCain suggests the U.S. should offer economic assistance to Middle Eastern allies who are willing to help in Iraq. McCain made his comments last night in Des Moines. His speech was part of a lecture series sponsored by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy and the Greater Des Moines Committee on Foreign Relations and featuring the presidential candidates of both parties.