When it comes to Georgia. Obama, on learning of the Soviet invasion, played it cool. It was “important … for all sides to show restraint.” McCain, by contrast, demanded that Russia “immediately and unconditionally” pull its forces out of Georgia.Again, McCain got it right the first time. Like the surge.
As Georgia’s plight worsened, McCain called “Russian aggression … both a matter of urgent moral and strategic importance” to us. He called for “high-level” diplomacy among European allies and said the United States should provide Georgia economic and humanitarian aid. Obama, for his part, urged that Russia “immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from Georgian territory” – the original McCain position.
On Georgia, Obama is possibly getting there. It took him a while, nonetheless, to figure out where “there” was. McCain, war veteran and foreign policy specialist as he is, knows instinctively that aggressors aren’t perturbed by pleas to behave.
McCain further understood the stakes in the affair. You let the bad guys take out a friend of yours and soon your other friends start wearing nervous looks. What next? In a fight, could they count on America? How much could they count on America? Should they start to think about making terms with potential adversaries?
His European magical mystery tour not withstanding, BO has not shown that he is nimble and sophisticated enough to understand the ramifications of what happened. To quickly understand and grasp the magnitude of what occurred. As the article notes above.
But Obama did call for restraint from both Russia and Georgia, I guess that’s something!
McCain and the rest of the world did. And BO is scrambling to catch up.
1 response so far ↓
Laura // August 12, 2008 at 12:19 pm |
Great insight on this subject.