McCain and the surge.

It's bad enough that McCain is attempting to portray himself as a foreign policy expert whilst buggering up the Iraq war timeline, but the sheik that he said was protected by the US was actually assassinated during the surge.

"Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks," said the Senator. "Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening."

The Arizona Republican's campaign went further the next day, claiming that the major figures that turned around Anbar province would have been killed had the surge policy not been in place. "If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda," said spokesman Tucker Bounds.

Sadly, that murder took place even with the surge underway. In September 2007, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, the sheik widely credited with persuading Sunni leaders to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, died in a bomb attack in Anbar.

This is turning into a disaster for McCain. And this is supposedly his strongest issue. He really is beginning to sound as if he simply doesn't know what he is talking about.

Tags: CBS, John McCain, Surge, Anbar