Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has slammed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for not visiting troops injured in Iraq while in Germany. According to a statement issued by Der Spiegel, “Obama cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday”. According to a spokesman for the newspaper, “Barack Obama will not be coming to us. I don't know why”.
In response to the newspaper statement, Obama senior advisor Robert Gibbs released a statement that “During his trip as part of the CODEL to Afghanistan and Iraq, Sen. Obama visited the combat hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad and a number of other visits with the troops. For the second part of his trip, the senator wanted to visit the men and women at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice. The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a US military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign”. The McCain camp hit back, saying that it's never “inappropriate” for a head of state to visit troops. If Obama says it's inappropriate to visit troops on a funded trip, then, when is it appropriate?
