Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Monday in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain agreed Monday that new tactics are working in Iraq, but Clinton said the best way to honor soldiers is “by beginning to bring them home.” McCain said withdrawing troops quickly would be a historic mistake.

Clinton, seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, described the Iraqi government as “on vacation” as American troops are caught in a sectarian civil war. McCain, a Republican presidential hopeful, drew loud applause from the same convention of war veterans when he said, “As long as we have a chance to succeed, we must try to succeed.”

Between the candidates’ speeches, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said in a televised address that American troops and Iraqi military and police have “quite robust” partnerships in some areas and are making progress in fighting insurgents.

All three spoke during the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual convention. Two other presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson, planned to address the convention today; President Bush was scheduled to speak Wednesday.

Clinton received a generally friendly welcome at the start but only a smattering of applause when she said American troops should come home. VFW members responded to most of her remarks about Iraq with polite silence. The hall in which the candidates and Petraeus spoke seated almost 6,000 people, but it was only half full for their remarks.

Clinton said the Iraqi government still must take responsibility for itself and its people.

“I do not think the Iraqis are ready to do what they have to do for themselves yet,” she said. “I think it is unacceptable for our troops to be caught in the crossfire of a sectarian civil war while the Iraqi government is on vacation.”

In contrast, VFW members interrupted McCain’s remarks about Iraq several times with applause, including when he spoke of the need for U.S. troops to remain. Also contributing to his warm reception was his past as a former Vietnam prisoner of war.

He said Petraeus and other U.S. commanders in Iraq deserve patience as they make progress in bringing stability to that nation. He said removing U.S. troops would empower al-Qaida and Iran and unleash a “full-scale civil war in Iraq.”

Petraeus is scheduled to give a progress report to Congress in September; Republicans hope signs of progress will lessen opposition to the war.

“We’re starting to succeed, and I think we’re seeing some shift in public opinion,” McCain said after his speech.

Judging from their responses, many VFW members already agreed with McCain that removing U.S. troops would be dangerous.

“Syria would bust wide open, and so would Iran, and the Israelis would be annihilated,” said Joseph Simms, of Anchorage, Alaska, the commander of his state’s VFW department. “It’d be total chaos over in the desert.”

Calvin Yohamine, an Air National Guard master sergeant from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, said he’s not sure what strategy the U.S. should pursue.

“A lot will depend on the report that’s coming,” he said.

But in a recent CNN-Opinion Research Inc. Corp. poll conducted earlier this month, 72 percent of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed said a positive report wouldn’t change their view of the war.

McCain said he understands that Americans are “sick and tired” of the war, which he said hasn’t gone well. But he said new commanders in Iraq like Petraeus are doing a more effective job of fighting insurgents.

“This new battle plan is succeeding – it is succeeding – where our previous tactics failed,” McCain said, drawing applause.

Clinton acknowledged that new tactics have brought some success against insurgents, particularly in Iraq’s al-Anbar province.

“It’s working. We’re just years too late in changing our tactics,” she said.