US:JOHN McCAIN has said that, now that Barack Obama has seen the success of the increase in US troop numbers in Iraq, the Democrat should admit that he was wrong to oppose the new military strategy.
Mr McCain was speaking as Mr Obama's international tour dominated US television news with almost overwhelmingly positive coverage of the Democratic candidate's visits to Afghanistan and Iraq.
"He'll be able to have the opportunity to see the success of the surge. It is a success. This is the same strategy that he voted against, railed against," Mr McCain said.
"He should admit he was wrong about the surge."
The Republican criticised Mr Obama's proposal to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months as a recipe for defeat, adding that the US did not have to choose between success in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"You can't choose to lose a war in Iraq in my view in order to win in Afghanistan.
"Of course we have problems in Afghanistan and as we succeed in Iraq there will be troops available to go to Afghanistan, but it's more than just troops. Senator Obama doesn't understand that it is a strategy, the same strategy that succeeded in Iraq, we will employ in Afghanistan, the one that he rejected and still does not accept the success of," he said.
Mr McCain's campaign has sought to play down the significance of Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki's apparent endorsement of Mr Obama's timetable for withdrawal, describing Mr Maliki's weekend remarks to a German magazine as "inartful".
Mr McCain appeared on all three network morning shows yesterday but he is struggling to compete for attention with Mr Obama's tour, which is receiving more coverage than most foreign trips by sitting presidents.
The Republican is focusing on economic issues this week in a series of appearances in battleground states, including Ohio, Colorado, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Mr McCain's efforts to secure his conservative base received a boost yesterday when evangelical leader James Dobson softened his long-held opposition to the Republican candidate.
"I never thought I would hear myself saying this," Mr Dobson said in a radio broadcast.
"While I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might." An influential Christian conservative, Mr Dobson has said in the past that he could not endorse Mr McCain because of the Arizona senator's support for embryonic stem cell research and his opposition to a federal ban on gay marriage.