McCain seems to have a huge interest in bringing our troops home as soon as possible.
McCain's 19-year-old son does a 'Prince Harry' in Iraq - Americas, World - The Independent
McCain's 19-year-old son does a 'Prince Harry' in Iraq
By Stephen Foley in New York
Monday, 7 April 2008
MATT YORK/AP
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.
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.
In common with the British Royal Family, which gathered the press together to agree a news blackout when Prince Harry served in Afghanistan earlier this year, the McCain camp has argued that coverage could make his son a target.
Jack McCain, who is two years older than Jimmy, is set to graduate from naval college next year, making it possible that John McCain could become the first sitting president since Eisenhower to have a son serving in a war zone. That may present unprecedented security concerns after any inauguration, but before that it will play heavily in the presidential campaign where the war in Iraq will be a fissure between Mr McCain and his rival, whether it be Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, both of whom have demanded an immediate withdrawal of troops.