The campaign exchanges recall the clichéd barroom banter: "You're ugly." "You're drunk." "But I'll be sober in the morning." Barack Obama's so-called inexperience is fast disappearing as he is tested by world events under Republican fire, while John McCain's Cheney-on-steroids approach is becoming more pronounced all the time.
Abetted by his foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, who was lobbying for the Georgian government until March, McCain has been fanning the embers of the Cold War for some time now.
According to the New York 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."
In a situation where the US and the UN have few practical options for restraining Putin, Obama is taking a more nuanced approach reminiscent of JFK and Reagan efforts to resist Soviet aggression without provoking needless showdowns by calling for direct talks for an end to the violence and emphasizing that "the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis."
After speaking with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Obama dispelled any doubts about his firmness: "I condemn Russia's aggressive actions and reiterate my call for an immediate cease fire."
In an era too complicated for the pseudo-tough talk of the Neo-Cons, McCain is even getting some pressure for moderation from the poster boy of the 20th century cold warriors.
“If Henry Kissinger thinks that I’m wrong," McCain reveals, "he’ll pick up the phone--and he has, several times, and say ‘You’re wrong on this; you shouldn’t be so hard on the Russians, O.K.?'"
Obama's experience with foreign crises is sobering, but will McCain's attitudes be any less ugly the morning after the presidential election?
Showing posts with label Henry Kissinger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henry Kissinger. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Betting on a Dead Horse, Again
Political chaos in Pakistan could bring nuclear headaches for the US, and what our government is doing to prop up a failing regime recalls efforts three decades ago on behalf of our old ally, the Shah of Iran.
The McClatchy Newspapers report: "The Bush administration is pressing the opposition leaders who defeated Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to allow the former general to retain his position, a move that Western diplomats and U.S. officials say could trigger the very turmoil the United States seeks to avoid.
"U.S. officials, from President Bush on down, said this week that they think Musharraf, a longtime U.S. ally, should continue to play a role, despite his party's rout in parliamentary elections Monday and his unpopularity in the volatile, nuclear-armed nation."
Pressuring the newly elected anti-Musharraf majority to retain our iffy friend may turn out to be the kind of mistake we made in the late 1970s on behalf of the Shah before and after he was deposed in Iran. Despite Jimmy Carter's misgivings, he was persuaded by Henry Kissinger and his oil friends to let the old US ally come here, which resulted in occupation of the American Embassy in Tehran for 444 days and the ongoing hostility with Iran.
President Bush has reacted to the Pakistan elections with a wishful observation that "it's time for the newly elected folks to show up and form their government, and the question then is, will they be friends of the United States, and I certainly hope so."
Behind the scenes, however, the White House is urging the newly elected Pakistanis not to reinstate the judges Musharraf ousted last year, who would likely try to remove him from office--a strategy that veteran State Department officials feel could backfire.
But not to fear, Henry Kissinger is still around to give the Administration the benefit of his wisdom and is helping John McCain with foreign policy advice.
What could possibly go wrong?
The McClatchy Newspapers report: "The Bush administration is pressing the opposition leaders who defeated Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to allow the former general to retain his position, a move that Western diplomats and U.S. officials say could trigger the very turmoil the United States seeks to avoid.
"U.S. officials, from President Bush on down, said this week that they think Musharraf, a longtime U.S. ally, should continue to play a role, despite his party's rout in parliamentary elections Monday and his unpopularity in the volatile, nuclear-armed nation."
Pressuring the newly elected anti-Musharraf majority to retain our iffy friend may turn out to be the kind of mistake we made in the late 1970s on behalf of the Shah before and after he was deposed in Iran. Despite Jimmy Carter's misgivings, he was persuaded by Henry Kissinger and his oil friends to let the old US ally come here, which resulted in occupation of the American Embassy in Tehran for 444 days and the ongoing hostility with Iran.
President Bush has reacted to the Pakistan elections with a wishful observation that "it's time for the newly elected folks to show up and form their government, and the question then is, will they be friends of the United States, and I certainly hope so."
Behind the scenes, however, the White House is urging the newly elected Pakistanis not to reinstate the judges Musharraf ousted last year, who would likely try to remove him from office--a strategy that veteran State Department officials feel could backfire.
But not to fear, Henry Kissinger is still around to give the Administration the benefit of his wisdom and is helping John McCain with foreign policy advice.
What could possibly go wrong?
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