1.   Reading from a prepared text at the luncheon, McCain acknowledged that his belated confession would not shield him from criticism.

2.   He said, however, that he had been following the intense controvery in the United States over the belated confession.

3.   Veterans denounced McNamara for his belated confession, saying he had been wrong to keep sending soldiers to die in a war he considered a losing cause.

4.   Veterans denounced McNamara for his belated confession, saying he had been wrong to keep sending soldiers to die in a war he considered unwinnable.