By WARREN P. STROBEL AND JONATHAN S. LANDAY
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- John McCain and Barack Obama clashed repeatedly over foreign policy in their first presidential debate Friday night, crossing swords on Iran and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
McCain made the most notable misstatements and stumbled over the names of the leaders of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose name he couldn't pronounce, and of Pakistan, referring to the latter as "Qadari" instead of Asif Ali Zardari.
McCain incorrectly asserted that former Gen. Pervez Musharraf rescued Pakistan from being a "failed state" when he seized power in a 1999 coup.
<...>
Many experts inside and outside the U.S. government, however, say that while the surge was crucial, it was not the only factor that has led to an 80 percent reduction in violence. Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw the surge, has also said he will never declare a U.S. victory in Iraq.
"This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade," Petraeus said in a Sept. 11 interview with the BBC. "It's not war with a simple slogan."
more