Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a presidential candidate, says there will be a "catastrophe" if President Bush's policy of sending more U.S. troops to Iraq fails. But Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., also a probable presidential candidate, says Iraq is a "catastrophe" right now. Both men appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday. McCain said he can't guarantee the new policy "will succeed, but I can guarantee catastrophe if we fail or continue the present strategy" in Iraq. Democrats have been calling the call for a surge in troops the "McCain doctrine," but the senator said he would call it the "McCain principle" -- "that when I vote to send young Americans into harm's way and to carry out a mission, that I'm committed to seeing that mission through and to see that it succeeds."
Obama said, "I strongly disagree with Sen. McCain ... (about) this notion that we have future catastrophe to look forward to if we start phasing down troops. We are in the catastrophe that Sen. McCain described right now," with bloodletting and the advancement of Iran in Iraq. He said a different approach would be to follow what the Iraq Study Group recommended -- gradual withdrawal of combat troops with remaining U.S. forces in a training or supportive role. Obama refused to say whether Democrats would consider cutting off funding for the war, saying opposition would come in "steps."