On Monday, U.S. Rep Joe Pitts criticized comments Sen. Barack Obama made last August about U.S. troops in Afghanistan as the McCain campaign started running an ad highlighting Obama's statements.

Speaking at a press conference at Lancaster County GOP headquarters Monday afternoon, Pitts said Obama's August 2007 comments amounted to an accusation of war crimes that were demoralizing to U.S. troops.

"It is really difficult to imagine a commander-in-chief who would toss out a reckless accusation in order to secure support from the radical wing of the Democratic party," Pitts said.

During the town hall meeting in New Hampshire, Obama said about Afghanistan: "We've got to get the job done and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."

Pitts said Monday that such comments call into question Obama's fitness to be president, adding that Illinois senator has not retracted what he said.

"By continuing to stand by his reckless accusation, Barack Obama has confirmed every misgiving Americans have ever had toward him," Pitts said.

On Monday, the McCain campaign released a new ad taking aim at Obama for what he said about Afghanistan.

Using a snippet of the town hall meeting, the McCain ad shows Obama saying that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians."

Ryan Aument, Lancaster County Clerk of Courts and an Iraq war veteran, joined Pitts at the Monday afternoon press conference.

Aument said U.S. troops take great great risks to avoid civilian casualties, calling Obama's statement "irresponsible."

"It is clear to me that Sen. Obama has neither an understanding of this war in which we are engaged nor the judgment to serve as president of the United States," Aument said.

After Obama's comments last August, the Associated Press looked into the matter and concluded that "Western forces (in Afghanistan) have been killing civilians at a faster rate than the insurgents have been killing civilians."


Staff writer Chad Umble can be reached at cumble@LNPnews.com or 481-6031.