General McClellan McKiernan

During the 2008 Vice Presidential debate, Governor Sarah Palin evidently mistook the last name of U.S. Army General David McKiernan for McClellan.¹ McKiernan is the senior U.S. military commander in Afghanistan. "General McClellan" may refer to George B. McClellan, a Civil War general who died in 1881.¹

Fast Facts

1. Comment made during October 3, 2008 Biden-Palin debate
2. Neither Joe Biden nor moderator Gwen Ifill corrected the mistake
3. David McKiernan leads NATO forces in Afghanistan

Quote

Palin's statement was in reference to comments by McKiernan concerning the prospect of a military troop "surge" in the war in Afghanistan:

• "McClellan did not say definitively the surge principles would not work in Afghanistan. Certainly, accounting for different conditions in that different country and conditions are certainly different."¹

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