Eric Lach March 8, 2011, 10:37 AM

On CBS’s “The Early Show” Tuesday morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) spoke about his support for a no-fly zone over Libya. And as part of his argument that a no-fly zone need not lead to a ground war, he appeared to say that it was 9/11 that prompted the invasion of Iraq.

CBS’s Erica Hill asked McCain if a no-fly zone could really be separated from ground involvement.

“Can you realistically have one without the other?” Hill asked. “Because it seems — and so many people I’ve spoken to and as I look at this — that as soon as you go in with a no fly-zone, you need to be prepared for what could end up being a ground involvement.”

McCain’s answer was… unexpected.

“Well for 10 years over Iraq, we imposed a no-fly zone, and the escalation was as a result of 9/11, not because of that,” McCain responded. “Decisions are made that cause escalations, and those decisions I don’t think — I think we all realize American troops on the ground would be very harmful to our cause. But right now, Qaddafi is massacring his own people. He is committing war crimes. He is doing things which are in violation of every standard of international behavior.”

Watch (Iraq talk starts at about 1:50):

Iraq, John McCain, Libya