McCain says Obama trip to Iraq may be soon

DETROIT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend.

But McCain's spokesman said the Arizona senator knew nothing about Obama's schedule. Obama said last month he would go to both Iraq and Afghanistan soon. But his campaign has given no dates, seeking to cloak the trip in a measure of secrecy for security reasons.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain said at a Republican fund-raiser.

McCain's campaign spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan insisted to reporters later: "He doesn't know when he's going. He's not privy to that information. He was speaking in broader terms, about when Obama does land in Iraq."

McCain has been sharply critical of Obama, particularly for announcing his support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in a 16-month timetable, before actually having visited the country or meeting with commanders on the ground.

"Sen. Obama is going to arrive in Baghdad in a much, much safer and secure environment than the one that he would've encountered before we started the surge," McCain said, referring to a boost in U.S. troop numbers in Iraq that began last year.

McCain, who has made national security and foreign policy the centerpiece of his campaign for the November 4 election, has pressed Obama to visit Iraq.

Robert Gibbs, a top aide to Obama, had no comment on McCain's remark.

The Obama campaign has announced he would soon visit Jordan, Israel, London, Paris and Berlin but has made public only the barest of details.  Continued...