War Puts Focus on McCain’s Hard Line on Russia

[ShockediSay]

Source: NY Times

The intensifying warfare in the former Soviet republic of Georgia has put a new focus on the increasingly hard line that Senator John McCain has taken against Russia in recent years, with stances that have often gone well beyond those of the Bush administration and its focus on engagement....

His hard line has been derided as provocative, and possibly dangerous, by some so-called realist foreign policy experts, who warn that isolating Russia would do little to encourage it to change. But others, including neoconservatives who deem promoting democracy a paramount goal, see Mr. McCain’s position as principled, and prescient. Now, with Russia moving forcefully into Georgia as Mr. McCain seeks the presidency, his views are being scrutinized as never before through the prism of Russia’s invasion....

“If Henry Kissinger thinks that I’m wrong, he’ll pick up the phone — and he has, several times,” he said of the former secretary of state, “and say ‘You’re wrong on this; you shouldn’t be so hard on the Russians, O.K.?’ ”

Robert Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a top McCain foreign policy adviser, said that people who found Mr. McCain’s rhetoric on Russia inflammatory were living in denial.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/us/politics/12mccain.html

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Nothing like revenge for our giving up on Viet Nam, and proving we can win any war we choose, any place any time.

Of course, we'll have to re-institute the draft


Doesn't America need war-mongering leadership, dependent on defense contractor lobbyists for any kind of viable campaign???

[redqueen]

1. "by some so-called realist foreign policy experts"

"so-called"?

Interesting that they choose to use that kind of spin here...

[TwilightGardener]

2. Fucking scary. There's middle ground between appeasement

and overreaction. McShame doesn't know where that is. He's been itching for a fight with Putin before any of this even started. He still thinks the commies are gonna get us, the domino effect is coming to swallow democracy. God help us.

[atreides1]

3. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

I listened to this guy last night, I don't think that he's working for the right organization. Maybe he would be better with the Heritage Foundation?

"Robert Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a top McCain foreign policy adviser, said that people who found Mr. McCain’s rhetoric on Russia inflammatory were living in denial."

[RedLetterRev]

5. The first clue should have been "Carnegie"

The same names throughout the last century and a half keep popping up around wars, economic feudalism, scandals, banks and centers of money, drugs, corners of commodities, etc, etc. A few of those are Carnegie, Dulles, Harriman (as in Pamela, who salvaged Bill Clinton's 2nd run for governor), Scaife, Bush, Pierce (as in the Opium Wars and "Bar"), and quite a few more appear over and over and over, and always on the wrong side of the law or on the wrong side of just plain morality and justice. Before the Internet, they could operate quietly and keep things tamped down. Now, the cat's out and running loose.

McCain wants into that power-crowd so bad he can taste it, but the plain, bald truth is, even Cindy's money plus the price of his soul plus his daddy's and granddaddy's good names all together will never be enough to buy his way in. He may enjoy a few crumbs, but that's about all he'll ever get at best. And he knows it.

That alone is killing him.

Good.

[notadmblnd]

4. I think the secret to the US winning wars is have it's people behind it

and there's no way Americans are in the mood for more war.

[provis99]

6. McCain thinks Kissinger the War Criminal should be listened to?

That about says what a right-wing nut McCain is.