McCain says Iranian nuclear threat cannot be ignored or minimized

WASHINGTON, May 27 (KUNA) -- In a speech on his nuclear security policy, presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain on Tuesday said the Iranian nuclear threat cannot be ignored or minimized.
Speaking at the University of Denver in Colorado, Arizona Senator McCain said Iran was "marching with single-minded determination" toward acquiring a nuclear weapon, and that this fact was recently "authenticated" by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "has threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and represents a threat to every country in the region -- one we cannot ignore or minimize," McCain said.
North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon, almost certainly possesses several more nuclear warheads and "has shared its nuclear and missile know-how with others, including Syria," he said. "It is a vital national interest for the North Korean nuclear program to be completely, verifiably and irreversibly ended." During one of several interruptions of his speech by protesters opposed to the war in Iraq, McCain said, as an aside, "By the way, I will never surrender in Iraq, my friends. I will never surrender in Iraq." McCain said the United States should significantly reduce its own nuclear arsenal, and he suggested canceling the development of nuclear "bunker-busting" bombs, and working with Russia and China to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
"Today we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads," McCain said. "It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force." Republican President George W. Bush was scheduled to travel to Arizona on Tuesday for a fund-raiser for McCain, the man Bush hopes will succeed him as president next year.
The Tuesday evening event will be the first time Bush and McCain have appeared together since the President endorsed McCain at a White House ceremony in early March.
Bush remains popular with the Republican Party base and has been a prolific fund-raiser, but Bush also suffers from some of the highest disapproval ratings of any president in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama also was campaigning in the American West this week, with stops in New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado scheduled. Obama has pledged to work hard to win Western states that have traditionally voted Republican in recent years, but by close margins. (end) rm.bs KUNA 272224 May 08NNNN