Palin mangles Afghanistan issues

Someone please tell Sarah Palin that the commanding general in Afghanistan is McKiernan, not McClellan (he was a general in the American Civil War), which is what she called him multiple times during tonight's debate. Palin also got her facts wrong about the General's position on the situation in Afghanistan vs. Iraq. She claimed the surge principles "that have worked in Iraq" need to be implemented in Afghanistan and would be under McCain. Palin also contradicted Joe Biden's assertion that Gen. McKiernan said an Iraqi-like surge in Afghanistan wouldn't work.

Apparantly, Palin didn't do enough cramming for the debate. The Commanding General in Afghanistan, David McKiernan, said yesterday that more American troops are urgently required to combat a worsening insurgency, but stated emphatically that no Iraq-style "surge" of forces will end the conflict there.

McKiernan went on to say that Afghanistan is “a far more complex environment than I ever found in Iraq. The country’s mountainous terrain, rural population, poverty, illiteracy, 400 major tribal networks and history of civil war all make for unique challenges. The word I don’t use for Afghanistan is ’surge.’ ”

It just goes to show that Palin's "knowledge" doesn't go any deeper than surface level on any issue. She gamely recites the talking points she's been given but can't deviate from them in any way because she has no direct knowledge of any major issue.