Washington, July 26: Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain has accused his rival Democrat Senator Barack Obama of failing the Commander-in-Chief test on Iraq.

Speaking to war veterans in Denver, McCain criticised Obama for opposing President George W Bush’s troop surge in Iraq - one of the few issues where the GOP has gotten traction against Obama during his tour of Europe and US war zones.

“Eighteen months ago, America faced a crisis as profound as any in our history,” McCain said, declaring that the choice to boost troops in the faltering Iraq war was “a real-time test for a future commander in chief” that Obama failed.

“He didn’t just advocate defeat, he tried to legislate it,” the Daily News quoted McCain, as saying.

“Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth. Fortunately, Senator Obama failed, not our military. We rejected the audacity of hopelessness,” he added.

Obama traveled to Iraq after McCain and the GOP taunted him for not visiting the war in more than 900 days.

During Obama’s visit, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came out in favor of his plan for the US to withdraw in 16 months, leaving McCain as one of the few remaining advocates of an open-ended U. S commitment.

The Obama campaign shot back that McCain was engaged in bogus, backwards-looking attacks.

“The American people are looking for a serious debate about the way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, and angry, false accusations will do nothing to accomplish that goal,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

Burton condemned suggestions that Obama preferred a political win to a military loss. (ANI)