Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, who is touting his foreign policy credentials, got tangled up briefly on Tuesday on which Islamic extremist group Iran is accused of supporting.
McCain, at a news conference in the Jordanian capital of Amman, accused Iran of supporting the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
US officials believe Iran has been backing Shiite extremists in Iraq, not a Sunni group like al-Qaeda.
PHOTO: AP
"Well, it's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That's well known and it's unfortunate," McCain said.
Connecticut independent Senator Joe Lieberman, traveling with McCain on a swing through the Middle East and Europe, whispered in his ear and McCain quickly corrected himself.
"I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al-Qaeda. Not al-Qaeda. I'm sorry," McCain said.
Democrats quickly jumped on McCain, a strong backer of US President George W. Bush's troop build-up in Iraq.
"After eight years of the Bush administration's incompetence in Iraq, McCain's comments don't give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward," said Democratic National Committee communications director Karen Finney.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said McCain "misspoke and immediately corrected himself."
"Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates' judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief," Rogers said.
McCain's next stop was Europe yesterday where Bush has been heavily criticized for a perceived "go it alone" approach on a wide range of international issues.
Before his arrival in London, McCain wrote in the Financial Times that the US must be a "model country" and work with others to tackle challenges such as terrorism and global warming.
The newspaper said McCain distanced himself from what allies see as the unilateralism of the Bush administration, promising to "listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies."
In a column in the newspaper, McCain promised to renew the "mutual respect and trust" between the US and Europe and vowed to put the US at the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change.
"When we believe that international action is necessary, whether military, economic or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must also be willing to be persuaded by them," McCain wrote.
Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Tuesday brushed aside US and Jewish criticism of a multibillion-dollar gas deal she helped clinch with Iran, saying the Alpine republic does not need permission from the US to advance its strategic interests.
The brusque remarks by Calmy-Rey, who has ruffled feathers in Washington and Jerusalem with her outspoken positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, threaten to escalate tensions over a 25-year natural gas contract announced on Monday between Swiss energy trading company EGL and the state-owned National Iranian Gas Export Company.
The agreement is worth between 18 billion euros and 27 billion euros (US$28 billion and US$42 billion).
"Switzerland is an independent country that has its own strategic interests to defend," Calmy-Rey told reporters.
On Monday, the spokeswoman for the US embassy in Bern said Washington had told the Swiss that "major new oil and gas deals with Iran send precisely the wrong message at a time when Iran continues to defy UN Security Council resolutions requiring it to suspend enrichment-related and reprocessing activities."
Lisbeth Keefe said the US also was studying whether the deal violates the US Iran Sanctions Act.
"But we believe the deal in any case violates the spirit of the sanctions," she said.
The deal has come under close scrutiny because of the sanctions imposed on Tehran by the UN Security Council over concerns about Iran's nuclear and missile program. The Iranian government says it only wants to produce atomic energy for peaceful use, but the US and Israel accuse it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Calmy-Rey defended her trip to Iran, where she met hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and witnessed the signing of the gas accord.
The agreement was a success for diplomacy and business, she said, adding that Switzerland did much to bring the deal to fruition and so it was right for her to be at the signing.
She said the accord was approved by the Foreign Ministry and EGL experts. The US was informed of the deal ahead of time.
Discussions in Tehran also focused on human rights and Iran's atomic program, Calmy-Rey said, adding that Switzerland is working to find a diplomatic solution on the nuclear question. She said that she stressed in conversations that any rhetoric denying the right of Israel to exist was unacceptable for Switzerland.
Nevertheless, the neutral country's Jewish umbrella organization declared itself disappointed with the Swiss position. The Swiss Federation of Jewish communities said it respected that Switzerland wants to diversify its gas supply, but said the country has sent a wrong signal to the world.
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