McCain Advisor Apologizes for Iraq Casino Remarks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McCain Advisor Apologizes for Casino Lobbying Remarks in Iraq
Out-of-context comments posted on YouTube

July 7, 2008 -- Martin Eisenstadt, an advisor to the John McCain campaign, today issued an apology for remarks made during an interview on Al-Iraqiya TV on February 16 of this year at Baghdad's Business 2 Business Expo.

"It's come to my attention that excerpts of my interview at the Business Expo were recently taken out of context and posted on YouTube," said Eisenstadt. "At the time, I was representing commercial interests in the Green Zone, and did not formally have a position with the McCain campaign. During the remarks, I suggested that there would be a Mosque inside the proposed casino development in the Green Zone. I misspoke, and if anyone in the Muslim community was offended by those remarks, I sincerely apologize. In actual fact, the development plans to have a Mosque adjacent to the complex, not inside it."

"To be clear, John McCain has the utmost respect for the Iraqi people, and for all branches of Islam," added Eisenstadt.

Founder and President of the influential Eisenstadt Group, Martin Eisenstadt is a senior fellow at the The Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy in Washington, D.C. An expert on Near Eastern military and political affairs, Mr. Eisenstadt formerly consulted on the Rudolph Giuliani campaign, as well as numerous corporate and multinational organizations on issues of security and policy development. Martin Eisenstadt has been an influential voice in Near Eastern policy debate for over a decade.

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For more on Mr. Eisenstadt, go to http://www.eisenstadtgroup.com or http://www.hardinginstitute.org.

ENDS