John McCain on the sacrifices of our Iraqi War veterans

Yesterday Senator John McCain was campaigning with Peter Roskam who is the Republican candidate for Congress in the Illinois 6th Congressional District. Roskam’s Democratic opponent is Iraqi war veteran Tammy Duckworth, who walks on two artificial legs as a result of injuries suffered in Iraq. Roskam is not a veteran.

McCain had this to say about the sacrifice of our veterans:

I go out to Walter Reed quite often and see these brave young soldiers who have served and sacrificed so much. Many of them have lost limbs, as you know. And it's a very sad thing to see. But at the same time it's very uplifting.

But what was the sacrifice of our Iraqi War veterans for? When the war started we were told it was necessary to eliminate Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. When it turned out there weren’t any the stated reasons for the war shifted to bringing the benefits of western style democracy to the region. That no longer seems very likely so now we are told that the war in Iraq is part of the global war on terror. But many experts tell us that the war is increasing the likelihood that the United States will be attacked by terrorists rather than lessening it.

Maybe John McCain finds sacrifice itself inspiring even if the sacrifice accomplishes nothing. I guess everyone is entitled to find inspiration and meaning where ever they can, but if he feels that way why is he not campaigning for Tammy Duckworth rather than for her opponent?