- Banned
- #1
When will Obama's daughters serve in the Mideast?
By Stephen Foley in New York
Monday, 7 April 2008
MATT YORK/AP
John McCain has reacted angrily to media revelations about his youngest son,
Newspapers in the United States have revealed that John McCain's 19-year-old son, Jimmy, has been serving in Iraq, prompting a furious response from the Republican presidential contender's aides after months of effort to keep his son out of the public spotlight.
Mr McCain has repeatedly refused to make political capital from his son's service, despite having put support for the war in Iraq and national security at the heart of his campaign for president. But a tacit pact with the US media has begun to break down, and details are emerging of L/Cpl Jimmy McCain's military service, his childhood interest in war memorabilia and his experiences patrolling Anbar province in Iraq.
L/Cpl McCain has attended few of his father's campaign events and has been introduced at fewer, although he has accompanied him on at least one private visit to meet the family of a serviceman killed in the war.
When Senator McCain visited Iraq last year and shared a Thanksgiving dinner with troops, there was no press coverage of the fact that he was dining with his son and his unit. And he has kept to his code of silence even when pressed by the media. Asked about his son on Fox News recently, he replied: "We really never talk about our sons. We have two sons in the military but we never talk about it, if that's all right. I am so proud of both of them."
Jimmy McCain enlisted in the US Marines two years ago, at an age so young his mother had to fill consent forms for his medical examinations, and spent his Iraq tour in what was by then a largely subdued area, making house-to-house patrols and handing out footballs as gifts to residents.
By Stephen Foley in New York
Monday, 7 April 2008
MATT YORK/AP
John McCain has reacted angrily to media revelations about his youngest son,
Newspapers in the United States have revealed that John McCain's 19-year-old son, Jimmy, has been serving in Iraq, prompting a furious response from the Republican presidential contender's aides after months of effort to keep his son out of the public spotlight.
Mr McCain has repeatedly refused to make political capital from his son's service, despite having put support for the war in Iraq and national security at the heart of his campaign for president. But a tacit pact with the US media has begun to break down, and details are emerging of L/Cpl Jimmy McCain's military service, his childhood interest in war memorabilia and his experiences patrolling Anbar province in Iraq.
L/Cpl McCain has attended few of his father's campaign events and has been introduced at fewer, although he has accompanied him on at least one private visit to meet the family of a serviceman killed in the war.
When Senator McCain visited Iraq last year and shared a Thanksgiving dinner with troops, there was no press coverage of the fact that he was dining with his son and his unit. And he has kept to his code of silence even when pressed by the media. Asked about his son on Fox News recently, he replied: "We really never talk about our sons. We have two sons in the military but we never talk about it, if that's all right. I am so proud of both of them."
Jimmy McCain enlisted in the US Marines two years ago, at an age so young his mother had to fill consent forms for his medical examinations, and spent his Iraq tour in what was by then a largely subdued area, making house-to-house patrols and handing out footballs as gifts to residents.
