McCain's Reckless Response to Russia Posted by Patrick Barry

It's a bit duplicitous for John McCain to say that he is the candidate who knows when to intervene and when not to, when in the wake of the Russia-Georgia crisis, McCain's knee-jerk response was to rattle the saber at Russia, before there was any clarity at all to the situation. Without regard for the consequences, McCain made a declaration - "we are all Georgians" - that in a more sensitive context could have been construed as a declaration of war.   His position has been rebuffed by virtually the entire national security community as hasty, or worse, as jeopardizing more vital national security concerns. 

For more, see below:

McCain’s response to Russia – without waiting for the facts -- was reckless and dangerous, another example of how his foreign policy would be more “aggressive” than Bush. “McCain took a remarkably — and uniquely — more aggressive stance, siding clearly with Georgia’s pro-Western leaders and placing the blame for the conflict entirely on Russia.” McCain’s statement “put him more closely in line with the moral clarity and American exceptionalism projected by President Bush’s first term.” He went on to state that “I know I speak for every American when I say to him today, we are all Georgians.” [Politico, 8/10/08.  CBS, 8/12/08]

McCain has attacked Obama for not being aggressive in his response, yet Obama’s initial response was in line with almost all world leaders, including George Bush.  “While virtually every other world leader called for calm in Georgia last Thursday morning, John McCain did something he’s done many times over his career in public life: He condemned Russia…though neither he nor any other leader has suggested that the West has any real way to blunt Moscow’s ultimate intentions. He’s also faced the accusation that his encouragement of Georgia’s dramatic defiance of Russia helped trigger the crisis.” [Politico, 8/13/08]

The conflict was more complicated than how McCain portrayed it. “According to the Republican presidential candidate, ‘today we are all Georgians.’ Actually, the events of the past week in Georgia have little in common with either Hitler's dismemberment of Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II or Soviet policies in Eastern Europe. They are better understood against the backdrop of the complicated ethnic politics of the Caucasus, a part of the world where historical grudges run deep and oppressed can become oppressors in the bat of an eye… When it comes to apportioning blame for the latest flare-up in the Caucasus, there's plenty to go around. The Russians were clearly itching for a fight, but the behavior of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has been erratic and provocative. The United States may have stoked the conflict by encouraging Saakashvili to believe that he enjoyed American protection, when the West's ability to impose its will in this part of the world is actually quite limited.” [Washington Post, 8/17/08]

McCain has on numerous occasions called for kicking Russia out of the G-8 – an idea that would almost certainly lead to a new Cold War and preclude any cooperation on key non-proliferation issues. In a Foreign Affairs article published late last year, McCain advocated kicking Russia out of the G-8: “Today, we see in Russia diminishing political freedoms, a leadership dominated by a clique of former intelligence officers, efforts to bully democratic neighbors, such as Georgia, and attempts to manipulate Europe's dependence on Russian oil and gas. We need a new Western approach to this revanchist Russia. We should start by ensuring that the G-8, the group of eight highly industrialized states, becomes again a club of leading market democracies: it should include Brazil and India but exclude Russia.” McCain repeated this suggestion in his Los Angeles World Foreign Affairs Council speech that the G-8 should “include India and Brazil, but exclude Russia.” [Foreign Affairs, 11-12/07.   McCain, 3/26/08]

5 former Secretaries of State disagreed with the McCain position on Russia, cautioned for a more moderate approach.  Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned that U.S.-Russia relationship is too important to sacrifice over situation in Georgia.  “We have a number of common issues that we have to settle, if possible, with Russia.  We need Russia for a solution of the Iranian problem.  We may need Russia if Pakistan evolves in some of the directions that it might.  And it is helpful to cooperate with Russia not just on the [nuclear] question, but on the issues of energy.  It is an effort that should not be decided by what happened in Georgia.”  Former Secretary of State James Baker echoed those remarks, saying: “Look at it in a strategic context and not tactically…we have some big-picture issues that we need to be conscious of when we think about our future with Russia, and we ought to cooperate with them where we can, where they fit.”  Kissinger and former Secretary of State George Schultz were even more explicit, arguing together that “[t]his drift toward confrontation needs to be ended.” [CNAS, 9/15/08. NPR, 9/23/08 Chicago Tribune, 10/01/08]

Comments

[flyff penya]

Welcome to our game world, my friend asks me to buy some flyff money I do not know how to use the flyff gold ; my friend tells me how to use. I will thank for my friends bringing me in this world. I am not regret to buy buy flyff penya . We all love game, if you want to play it, please cheap penya and join us. Please do not hesitate to have game.

[shaiya gold]

When you have shaiya gold, you will become strong. With shaiya money, you can upgrade and admire by others. You can use cheap shaiya gold to start the journey of the world. So, do not hesitate, let us move to buy shaiya gold

[wakfu kama]

My friends forever, even though I will leave you one day, I will remember you forever. At that time, I was a naive; I must used money to buy wakfu kamas , as that I would not depend on myself. But I was not regret to buy wakfu kama . It is just a way bring me to the success.

[kal geons]

I want to buy some kal geons , but I do not know where to buy and how to buy kal gold .

[angels gold]

I like angels gold very much because it is very useful. In fact at first sight I have fallen in love with angels online gold.

[buy R4i卡]

McCain hates Russians so much he referred to Bin Laden's mujahideen 'Freedom Fighters' for driving the Russians out of Afghanistan. They were terrorists then and they are terrorists now.McCain Called Bin Laden's Mujahideen Freedom Fighters Again....

[sohbet odaları]

This is a very good site..

sonra bedava chat
burasıda var bedava sohbet

[qvod]

很难有发展前途做人体艺术美，看的眼光不同，人也不同
务的受人体艺术是确是很难
做人体艺术这项工作了女so you him
其实有空还不如去看看人体艺术有意思，再不然也可以去浏览下有不错的人体艺术指导，难道看到的古惑仔全集系列要去
short haircutssms jokesshort hairstylessdog groomerswhy

[led mining lamp]

Specialize in manufacture explosion proof light, including: explosion proof floodlight, led flashlight, spot lamp, led mining light, led searching light with rechargeable battery in China.

[chat]

religious sect may degenerate into a political faction,' wrote James Madison, but the new American nation would nevertheless be protected against the ungovernable combination of religious fervor and political power as long as the Constitution prohibited the federal government from establishing any particular creed as preeminent.
Chat | Bedava Chat | Chat Odalari | Sohbet