John McCain: U.S. Must Do "Better Job of Encouraging Democracy"
In an interview with CBS' "The Early Show," McCain said he did not "want to tell the president what he should do," but urged a strong tack in Egypt, despite any potential dangers.
"I realize this is fraught with danger; I realize the influence of extremist organizations as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, but I don't think the status quo is something that could lead to anything but much more violence," McCain told Early Show co-anchor Erica Hill.
"I do think that what a lot of us should be advocating for is an orderly transition, a government composed of the army, pro-democracy forces and individuals that would keep things calm, and an open and free election process for the elections in September," McCain continued.
The Arizona Senator argued that the recent chaos in Egypt demonstrated a flaw in U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Egypt in Crisis
"The U.S. is going to have to develop a new policy," he said. "It's a very delicate balance but were going to have to understand the new realities in the Middle East... We will also have to understand that there is the radical Islamic element out there that is bent on our destruction."
In an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," McCain also responded to criticisms lobbed against him in Donald Rumsfeld's new book, which describe him as having a "hair-trigger temper" and "a propensity to shift his positions to appeal to the media."
"I respect Secretary Rumsfeld. He and I had a very, very strong difference of opinion about the strategy that he was employing in Iraq which I predicted was doomed to failure," the McCain told ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
"And thank God he was relieved of his duties and we put the surge in otherwise we would have had a disastrous defeat in Iraq," he continued.
