http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16505.htmlRussia, Georgia, and McCain’s reckless belligerence
Posted August 10th, 2008
With the conflict between Russia and Georgia moving “toward full-scale war,” even those of us who follow the news closely might pause and think, “Now, what’s that conflict about again?” The NYT’s James Traub wrote a very helpful piece today offering plenty of background and history to explain the context for the violence, and why the parties have been moving towards this war in the North Caucasus for quite some time.
But given the U.S. presidential race, and the fact that this is a political site, I’d also note the
significance of Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s reactions to the conflict, which actually tell us quite a bit about their respective approaches to foreign policy. Ben Smith published a solid report on this last night.
While Obama offered a response largely in line with statements issued by democratically elected world leaders, including President Bush, first calling on both sides to negotiate, John 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.
The abrupt crisis in an obscure hotspot had the features of the real foreign policy situations presidents face — not the clean hypotheticals of candidates’ white papers and debating points…. Both American candidates back Georgia’s sovereignty and its turn toward the West. But their first statements on the crisis revealed differences of substance and style.
Obama, calling for restraint and condemning the “outbreak of violence,” also criticized Russia for having “invaded Georgia’s sovereign” and having “encroached on Georgia’s sovereignty.” Obama’s line was largely consistent with that of the Bush White House, the European Union, NATO, and a series of European powers.
John McCain took a different line, which, as Smith noted, “put him more closely in line with the moral clarity and American exceptionalism projected by President Bush’s first term.”
snip//
Let’s be clear:
if McCain the Candidate is a reliable indicator of what we can expect from McCain the President, the presumptive Republican nominee would apparently be anxious to exacerbate the burgeoning war, and antagonize Russia.There’s a lot going on right now, but
this is a very important development in the presidential campaign. Ben Smith characterized this as a “true ‘3 a.m. moment’” for the presidential candidates. And at this point, McCain is once again looking pretty scary.NYT's Traub article here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x375791
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