John McCain war hero turned into political icon

Known for being combative throughout the decades in the Senate and for two failed attempts to be elected president of the United States, McCain has suffered from brain cancer.

He's been surrounded by family and friends in Arizona in recent days, while he's passed away after publishing his last book <x)>Vala of concern: Good times, fair causes, great wars, and other estimates”.

In his book McCain has admitted that he has no idea how much time he has left to live, but that this has not prevented him from hitting current President Donald Trump, expressing regret at the election of former Alaskan governor Sarah Paul as a candidate for his deputy in the 2008 campaign, and expressing concerns about his country's international reputation.

For a long time, the chairman of the Senate's Committee for Armed Services, McCain has been considered expert on defence and foreign policy issues.

McCain was born in the Panama Marine Station of Panama on August 29, 1936, in a family of deep military history.

Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both four - star Admirals, he graduated from the Marine Academy in Annapolis in 1958.

Less than a decade later, he was sent to Vietnam, where his plane was hit in Hanoi.

Despite two broken hands, broken knee and constant torture, McCain has refused early release bids, saying he will leave only when the last American prisoner leaves the door.

“I fell in love with my country when I was imprisoned in somebody else's place”, said McCain when he accepted the Republican Party's nomination for candidate in the 2008 presidential election.

“I have loved the United States for their dignity, for the belief in wisdom, justice and goodness of their people. I loved them because they were not just one place but an idea, a cause to fight for. I was never the same again. I haven't been to myself anymore, I've been to my country of”, McCain said.

But he has continued to be himself.

As a senator, he has challenged the presidents, regardless of party affiliation, if he has felt that their policies are not in line with his views. In public view, he has been transformed from war hero to political icon, gaining the reputation of a rebel.

During his first term in Congress, he has risen up against President Ronald Reagan, a respected republic to date, due to his decision to deploy peacekeeping marines in Beirut with limited protective capacity.

McCain's concerns have been appropriate, as a suicide bomber has blown himself up in the barracks, killing 241 marines in October 1983.

His reputation has grown until he has repeatedly challenged the next Republican president, George W. Bush, in connection with tax cuts, accusations of US torture and strategy in Iraq.

McCain has been equally tough with Democratic Party leaders.

He has been one of President Barack Obama's fiercest foreign policy critics. He has questioned his decision to withdraw troops from Iraq and his refusal not to withdraw <x0) red” in Syria after the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, has used chemical weapons against his people.

Things have changed a little even when Republican Donald Trump took over the White House leadership in 2017.

McCain has become the chief opponent of the president. Both have often clashed publicly with foreign policy, especially in terms of Syria, Russia, and China.

Trump, who constantly decried the Republicans and the Democrats who criticised him, has named McCain “nokompetent”. As a candidate, Trump made fun of McCain, saying that “ai is a war hero because he's captured”. Trump, who has never served in the army, has said he likes “people who have not been taken captive”.

On the international stage, McCain has been known for direct attitudes and the simple language that has often made difficult political issues easier to understand.

He has been a strong supporter of Eastern European membership in NATO.

In April 2017, McCain has visited Montenegro and has said that this country's membership in the Western military alliance is vital for regional stability and joint efforts by Western allies to resist a reborn Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in an interview published on June 8, 2017 that his McCain critic, who has said Putin is a greater threat to the world than the extremist Islamic State group, lives in “Old World”.

McCain has also referred to Russia as the <x0). Putin, however, has said he admires McCain's patriotism.

McCan has left behind his wife Cindy, who has been married for 38 years, and five children. /rel/.