U.S. Sen. John McCain"John McCain is wrong on Iraq, and the wrong choice for our future," said Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director Maria Weeg today in a press release commemorating the fifth anniversary of the declared "end of combat operations in Iraq" by President George W. Bush.

"After standing side-by-side with President Bush as he misled us into war and declared 'mission accomplished' before it was over," continued Weeg, "John McCain has been the President's most loyal supporter every step of the way. John McCain doesn't understand that Arizonans are not 'fine' with our troops staying in Iraq for 100 years under any circumstances. It is time to start using some of the $12 billion a month we spend in Iraq to address the real threats to America's security and invest in confronting the challenges we face right here at home. Clearly, the only way to do that is to put a Democrat in the White House."

The statement also went on to clarify that Democratic opposition to 100 years in Iraq included non-combat roles, such as the U.S. presence in Germany and South Korea that McCain had used as models for what he meant by staying for that long.

Tony Reinhard, Communications Manager for the Arizona Republican Party, decried the Democrats' statement as "spin."

"This is simply the liberal spin machine trying to cover up the fallacy of the argument they've been making for weeks," said Reinhard. "Sen. [Barack] Obama has tried to play this, [DNC]Chairman [Howard] Dean has tried to play this, and it's just not working."

Despite allowing for the context of McCain's remarks, the Arizona Democratic Party also included a link to an ad from the Democratic National Committee which uses McCain's statement to imply combat for decades to come.

The Republican National Committee has called the ad "deliberately misleading," and has threatened legal action if it isn't pulled. DNC Chairman Howard Dean has refused.

Watch the video.

The release additionally quoted McCain in instances where the Democrats say he contradicted himself on his positions regarding the Iraq war, including an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews in 2005 where McCain roundly rejected the idea of using the South Korea model for Iraq.

Read the full release.