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US SENATOR JOHN McCain’s family say he has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for brain cancer.
McCain’s brain tumour was diagnosed last year after he had undergone surgery to remove a tumour and blood clot from above his right eye.
His tumour is known as a glioblastoma – a highly aggressive cancer that begins in the brain.
In a statement today tweeted by his daughter Meghan, the family said that the 81-year-old had “surpassed expectations for his survival” in the past year but that the disease has continued to progress.
“Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: He had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious. In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict,” the family said in a statement.
“With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”
McCain is a war veteran who was a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and went on to challenge for the White House.
The Republican ran for the US presidency against Democrat opponent Barack Obama in the 2008 US election, with controversial governor of Alaska Sarah Palin as his running mate.
In the event, he won 173 electoral college votes versus Obama’s 365.
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Despite what that buffoon Trump has had to say on McCain. ..He is a hero. Trump is not fit to polish his boots.
The best of wishes to both him and his family.
@gowfc@yahoo.com W: He is one of the biggest war hawks that ever lived. He vehemently supported every illegal military action he could, and probably countless others. Try informing yourself before making embarrassing comments.
@gowfc@yahoo.com W: Trumps comments on McCain “He’s not a war hero. He’s a War Hero because he was captured, I like people who weren’t captured” .
Strange comment based on the fact that his best pal Mannafort was “captured” but he he’s still a “good man” and “I like” him
A hero to who? Vietnam was hardly a noble war. In any case, Trumps quote on McCain’s capture will definitely come back to haunt him.
@O Swetenham: soldiers do as they’re told. They go where their country sends them. Not a great fan of McCain but I wouldn’t use that stick to beat him.
@Dave O Keeffe: “soldiers do as they’re told”, tell that to the people of My Lai.
@Flip off: Do you even see your hypocrisy? You are telling someone to inform themselves, while you cover your own comments with “probably”. That’s embarrassing!
@gowfc@yahoo.com W: some of his fellow inmates in Vietnam wouldn’t think of him as a hero
@Flip off: George Soros owned puppet
@Flip off: Take your own advice. Despite being a prisoner of war for 6 years in Vietnam during which time he experienced severe torture which left him physically disabled for the remainder of his life. He refused early release, offered because his father was an admiral, unless every other prisoner was also released.
After entering politics he was one of those who fought to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Over time he developed a reputation for being an independent straight shooter. You may not like or agree with his politics but this man has lived an extraordinary life on his own terms, with dignity and honour, it now appears he intends to leave it the same way.
@O Swetenham: have you noticed anything strange? Soldiers don’t get the blame for Iraq/Afghanistan/WMDs yet they shouldn’t have been there either. The blame should lay squarely on the shoulders of those that sent them.
@Dave O Keeffe: You can’t absolve soldiers of all personal responsibilities, especially when they’re involved in massacres like the one I mentioned above. Doesn’t matter who sent them, or what army they fought for. But whatever, McCain is an all American hero so, god bless America. Yippee ki yay.
@O Swetenham: quick question, was he involved in the massacre you mentioned?
@Dave O Keeffe: No be was not (did I say he was?). Sure he went to Vietnam to provide the vietcong with candy and hugs, certainly not to kill commies. You were talking about soldiers in general, and how they simply “obey orders”, the higher ups are entirely to blame. I don’t think that’s true.
@O Swetenham: well then I think you’ll certainly agree that you can’t blame McCain for massacres he didn’t participate in and therefore it was pretty pointless of you to bring it up in relation to him. I agree that soldiers have an element of personal responsibility as well don’t get me wrong but to use events that he wasn’t present for as a way to undermine his service is just silly.
@Dave O Keeffe: In my first comment I simply questioned the notion of someone being regarded as a “hero” in what was clearly an unjust war. His conduct was admirable, fine, but make no mistake he was over there to kill people he knew nothing about. I only brought up My Lai in response to your initial comment that soldiers (plural) simply “do as they’re told”.
@O Swetenham: The vast majority of Soldiers of every army that has ever fought knew every little about those they fought. How many of Alexander’s Greeks knew anything about the Persians other than they were the enemy,, How many Julius’s Romans knew about the Gauls, How many Spanish knew about the Inca or Aztecs, How many British knew about Indians and Afghans and so on.
Your examples are from centuries ago. War has changed. Were American soldiers really that oblivious in Vietnam.
@gowfc@yahoo.com W: He is far from a hero despite what Trump has said . When McCain meets his maker he should look back over his life and see how many people he killed in Vietnam . He was shoot down and spent many years as a POW . Considering he seen the war close up you would think he would be more of a pacifist not a war hawk But no he has voted to bomb every country that was in the USs firing sight . And to cap it of he picked Plain as his running mate
The amount of praise McCain is getting on here would suggest that people don’t know the first thing about him.
@Flip off: You should read Terence’s post below. Let it be a lesson in how grown ups talk.
@Flip off: Or perhaps people have changed their view of him given the honorable way he has acted in recent years.
@Philip Kavanagh: you’ve got it ars€ways. McCain only became more hawkish as he got older. When he first entered Congress he was known as a Republican ‘maverick’ due to his opposition of entering Lebanon and invading Somalia. But that moniker didn’t last long by the time of Kosovo and became more looney ever since. Only 2 years ago he implied at wanting a war with Russia.
@Flip off: Flip off.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: are you saying he was crazy to think America should get involved in Kosovo? I think ethnic cleansing is one of those things everyone agrees the world’s biggest army should be fighting against. What did he say that implied he wanted a war with Russia? I know he hates Putin but I can’t recall him wanting war
McCain: Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Trump: Stormy Daniels
@alphanautica: ouch
I’ve gained a bit of respect for McCain the last few years, but let’s not have a regrettable illness whitewash an otherwise very questionable record.
He’s no hero. Notwithstanding i bear no ill will.
@Daraghosullivan: I think his battle with cancer and knowing when its time to stop battling is the stuff of heroes, as it is for so many
@Daraghosullivan: I do admire the fact that when he was a POW the North Vietnamese wanted to repatriate him because they discovered his father was a high ranking Admiral and wanted to use it for propaganda purposes he refused the repatriation unless every other prisoner taken before him was released too.
@Diaspora’d: What was he doing there in the first place?
@Sean Conway: sightseeing, enjoying the night life and visiting temples. He was so popular the locals put him up in a budget hotel free of charge for the remainder of his time there…
@Sean Conway: You have to ask?
Not just a war hawk but an Uberhawk. Wanted war with Iran, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and NK on many occasions but it ws his strategies in doing so that set this looney aside. In Syria it ws McCain and Lindsey Graham that called to the terrorist ‘Free Syrian Army’ to rise up. He also advocated an escalation of tensions w/ China and Russia on a few occasions. An absolute lunatic and a lot more dangerous than George W. He wanted military intervention in Mali, Sudan and Nigeria and supports Salafi jihadists in the Mid East, supported a genocidal jihadist organisation in the Bosnian war and neo-Nazis in Ukraine. It’s because of people like McCain that ISIS was able to emerge. It would be difficult to find another man in power that has done more to encourage the spread of death worldwide.
Though Trump campaigned on a more isolationist foreign policy platform, he’s largely expanded or reinvigorated his predecessor’s conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Niger.
Trump To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: well said.
McCain has the blood of millions of people on his hands. McCain’s crimes are long and varied. He supported the illegal Iraq war, he supported the illegal US inspired coup detat’s in Ukraine, Syria, he supported the bombing into smithereens of Libya. I don’t wish anyone any ill will but I’ll spare a thought for this bloodthirsty warmongers victims first and foremost.
@Seamus Hanratty: Just checking, would you also call someone like Putin, who stole Crimea, is still conducting a war in eastern Ukraine, and bombs Syrian hospitals a ‘warmonger’ too?
@Diaspora’d: From a Russian perspective, to allow the United States to plant their own puppet regime in Ukraine and take a country away that was a traditional part of Russia would have been a complete dereliction of national duty. To allow Nato and their warmonger allies to plant missiles in Ukraine would have been madness. The real problem western encroachment on traditional sphere of influences. The real problem lies in the west seeking complete and total control of the world that we live in. How would the US react if their was a Russian inspired some Coup detat right on their doorstep, say in Canada?
Assad was and is the elected leader of Syria, the majority of people elected the man, the Russians where invited into the country to push back against Western desires for complete dominion over the region. The west have armed and supplied ammunition to the worst kind of degenerates imaginable. If Assad is overthrow who rules the country? Some degenerate from Islamic State? How did Iraq turn out? How did the bombing of Libya turn out? The real reason these proxy wars and overt wars are taking place,obviously, isnt for freedom or democracy but for greed, wealth, the arms industry, share prices, etc, and lastly because Israel does not want any viable arab state in existence that may threaten Israel. Its a geo political game of chess that is at play but this game isn’t played with pieces but played with people lives.
@Seamus Hanratty: @Seamus Hanratty: so not a moral or false equivalence? We know what happened when Russia attempted to put missiles in Cuba and we know America blundered into a terrible war in Vietnam because it also felt from its perspective that it would be a terrible “dereliction of duty” to allow Indochina fall to communism.
You’re right though it is a geopolitical game of chess but I find it strange how Putin, who annexed Crimea, currently fights a war in eastern Ukraine and bombs Syrian hospitals and civilians is for some not also a ‘warmonger’.
By the way some in America already think that Russia is attempting a coup d’etat not in a neighbor but in America itself in it’s democratic process.
@Diaspora’d: If Putin didnt take the actions that he did, Ukraine would be in US possession with a nice wee puppet installed. From a Russian perspective, eliminating a huge massive landmass that traditionally offered a barrier to foreign invading armies (ie) Hitler, Napoleon, etc. It was incumbent about Putin representing his national interests not to let Nato and their western allies get a foothold in Ukraine. Nobody said Putin was an angel but for the most part his actions are reactionary to western aggression on his doorstep and further afield. Putin represents a hope that the uncontrolled US/Western/Zionist lust for power and world hegemony may be curtailed. I find it quite hilarious the US being up in arms about so called foreign meddling in elections when it was the USA who virtually invented the blueprint for such tactics. There are hundreds of countries where the US have been meddling in since WW2.
@Seamus Hanratty: didn’t do enough imo. Saddam who gased millions of his own people was well rid of. How brave a man is mr McCain, we all could learn a lesson from his heroism. Godspeed john,
@dec dunne: Saddam never gassed millions of people but he did gas thousands, although reprehensible either way. Mores to the point, who originally supplied the gas agents to Saddam???Oh thats right, the British and their US warmongering allies.Who armed Saddam?? Oh, thats right once more the US and their warmongering allies. The hypocrisy of the US and west knows no bounds. Its quite sickening but most people are unfortunately too dumb to see through it. When it comes to McCain the only saving grace is that the blood thirsty animal never got elected President because if he did we might not be here conversing. Godsped to McCain’s many innocent victims.
@dec dunne: the US was all for the gassing of the Kurds.
All the tin foil hat wearing lefties are out here tonight. He is a man of honour that did great feats of bravery and is probably the last Republican that the Democrats could do cross party business with. What Trump said about him was an insult to all veterans and he should never be forgiven for it. I wish him a safe journey.
Hopefully the terrorist funding war criminal diesin agonising pain
@Brian Conway: Wow.. that’s some comment.
The kindest most honourable man
@Pat Patovic: It seems that that was a case of mistaken identity..
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-mccain-meets-isis-leader/
@Francis Mc Carthy: Do not focus on just one face. There was a bunch of merry terrorists there with John.
The wheel all way’s turn’s .
What a warrior a war hero and an
Honest guy and a genuine American unlike its head of state
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