Another McCain Dispute with Kissinger -- Now on Russia

McCain said we will not have another Cold War with Russia. But just said Ukraine was "in Russia's sights" and repeated his oft-repeated line that when he sees Putin he sees the letters "K.G.B." This is a good line if you are pundit, not if you are a president and want to avoid a new Cold War. The fact is that our relationship with Russia is bigger than what happened in Georgia. The five former Secretaries of State - including Kissinger, Powell, and Baker - that famously rebuffed McCain on Iran also did so on Russia. McCain's initial response was reckless, as well as his continued approach.

As conflict erupted, McCain recklessly issued bellicose statements, condemning Russia without waiting for all the facts, while Barack Obama, other world leaders, and President Bush took a more measured approach. Henry Kissinger said the unpleasant fact is that "the first shot was fired on the Georgian side" and Colin Powell said the Georgians provoked the crisis. Additionally, all three Republican Secretaries of State called for some perspective.  James Baker argued that we have to look at this conflict "in a strategic context not tactically...we have some big-picture issues to be conscious of" and that while the U.S. should support democratic governments "these are little flash fires that we need to be aware of and deal with properly, but that should not be cause for rupturing the entire big relationship." Colin Powell explained that "you have to treat Russia...in a straightforward, businesslike, objective way and not emotionally." Yet McCain's emotional outcry that "we are all Georgians" and his dangerous proposal to kick Russia out of the G-8, are completely counter to this approach. 

Henry Kissinger: U.S.-Russia relationship 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." [CNAS, 9/15/08, NPR, 9/23/08]

Henry Kissinger: Georgia shot first, should not overreact to crisis. "We have to face the fact that the first shot in Georgia was fired on the Georgian side.  Now, Russia reacted in an excessive manner, but we should not make the whole relationship depend on the pictures that you showed. And I would urge the new President, as I am urging this President to explore the possibilities of cooperation and be very sure before we go the route of cutting off WTO and the other international measures for which cooperation with Russia may be very important." [CNAS, 9/15/08]

Colin Powell dismisses McCain's reckless "we are all Georgians" statement - says we have to be careful in a crisis and act businesslike, not emotional. Asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour to explain McCain's statement that "'we are all Georgians now.'  What does that mean?" Secretary Powell responded, "One candidate said that, and I'll let the candidate explain it for himself.  (Laughter.)  No, the fact of the matter is that you have to be very careful in a situation like this not just to leap to one side or the other until you've taken a good analysis of the whole situation....So you have to treat Russia...in a straightforward, businesslike, objective way and not emotionally." [CNAS, 9/15/08]

Colin Powell: Georgians provoked and conflict was predictable. "Now, in the current situation the Russians acted brutally. I think they acted foolishly.  But it was also absolutely predictable what the Russians would do.  You could see them stacking up their troops.  And I think it was foolhardy on the part of President Saakashvli and the Georgian government to kick over this can, to light a match in a room full of gasoline." When asked by CNN's Frank Sesno, "So you're saying the Georgians provoked this." Secretary Powell responded, "They did.  I mean, there was a lot of reasons to have provocations in the area, but the match that started the conflagration was from the Georgian side." [CNAS, 9/15/08]

James Baker:  U.S. should not over react; we must look to big-picture issues. "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, but we ought to also be willing to confront them where our vital interests are involved. We are committed to the independence of these former republics of the former Soviet Union, and that should continue to be our position.  That doesn't mean we ought to send the 101st Airborne in to guard the South Ossetian border.  I mean, that would not make very good sense and that's not the kind of thing we ought to be speculating about." [CNAS, 9/15/08]

James Baker: U.S. needs strategic outlook and should not rupture relationship with Russia over its border conflicts. Secretary Baker said that the U.S. should focus "strategically and not tactically.  You're going to have these border conflicts all around the periphery of the former Soviet Union.  They're there.  Stalin created ethnic tensions.  And these are little flash fires that we need to be aware of and deal with properly, but that should not be cause for rupturing the entire big relationship because unless we can keep that big relationship together to deal with nonproliferation, to deal with the environment, climate change, you name it."  [CNAS, 9/15/08]

Read more reactions to the Obama-McCain Town Hall Debate from HuffPost bloggers

Comments

[BarackMarley]

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
http://newsone.blackplanet.com/elections/mccain-called-bin-laden-a-freedom-fighter/

[PioneerKing]

McCain is a neo-con bully with an 18th century of foreign policy and national security -- bomb, bomb, bomb any country that he feels threatended by.

[jusion]

Actually neo-conservatism (liberal interventionalism) has pretty much been the basis for America's foreign policy since WWII, which was caused by "an 18th century foreign policy" of isolationism.

[jusion]

(cont'd)

P.S. The only former Secretary of State not mentioned in your article was Madeleine Albright. She was asked about letting Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, and the possibility that doing so would mean the U.S. would have to respond to Russian aggression in those regions:

AMANPOUR: Now you've got Russia invading Georgia. Is the advice to the next president of the United States therefore, you have to go to war against Russia in order to protect your NATO allies?

ALBRIGHT: ...I also think that countries have the right to choose whatever alliance they want to be in. And the main thing, while I fully agree that we can't go back to the Cold War and have a really very bad adversarial relationship with Russia, Russia cannot think that independent countries on its border are a threat to them.
So I think -- I personally believe that we need to go forward with the Membership Action Plan for Georgia and for Ukraine, and keep explaining that it is not a threat.

Albright's background had given her invaluable insight into the situation. The subject that informed Madame Secretary's worldview above all else came from her own experiences with the tyranny of totalitarianism, whether in the form of Nazism or Stalinism.

[jusion]

Russia is a gangster state run by ex-KGB types. They'd tricked Georgia's naive president into an unwinnable (for Georgia) conflict. Obama's initial "Both sides have to show restraint" was a pure soft liberal response, utterly lacking in its condemnation of the true aggressor. Russia is going to be a major problem for the next president. The approach will have to be tough and, dare I say, confrontational (Cold War? In the words of John McCain --- MAYBE). People who run Russia now only understand might. Putin would have Obama for breakfast. McCain is the man for the job.
BTW, I'm Russian.

[ProudLiberalDemocrat]

If you believe that, "[P]utin would have Obama for breakfast," then Senator McCain's remark that when he looks into Putin's eyes and see's a K., a G., and a B. is the least Presidential thing that can ever be said.

Senator McCain is provoking the person, Putin, that you say wields power in Russia. This is reckless.

Restraint, as Senator Obama suggests, is the best posture for America. Provoking Putin is dangerous. Senator McCain is dangerous.

[jusion]

You should watch some Russian TV. They hold all American political figures in contempt, including your beloved Obama.

[Stephanie71]

The reason McCain beleives that there won't be a new cold war is because he's still living out the original Cold War.

[jusion]

The Cold War is back. McCain is right: Crimea and eastern Ukraine are in Russia's crossahairs. Russian government's Channel One has recently started an anti-Ukrainian campaign. If Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as its access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state, spanning Europe and Asia.
Moreover, Moscow has encouraged an orgy of anti-American hysteria in the loyalist Russian media. On September 12, the America-bashing reached a new low: a prime-time special on national television peddling the notion that the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of September 11, 2001, were an inside job by American warmongers.

[loax]

MCain cannot help himself. His Maverick image is mor War Monger.

[deliriousgod]

I've listened to McCain's mouth many times and heard the letters N A V Y. I have also some reason to believe that American Presidents surround themselves with people whose eyes are filled with three letters: C I A.

[Gib]

If McCain disagrees with Kissinger it just goes to show his maverick nature - he takes on his own party. Hell, he's so mavericky that he even takes on himself for what he said yesterday, or last week!

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

Contrary to popular belief, McCain did not act out of haste or overaggressive militarism, he was merely being true to the support he sold to Saakashvilli. The day McCain penned a letter of support for Georgia, at the request of Rick Davis, Davis received a $200 million dollar lobbying contract with Georgia. This is another case of McCain selling his support and highlighted in my article on his many quid pro quos. McCain: For Sale to The Highest Donors.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-peete/mccain-for-sale-to-the-hi_b_126375.html

[Jezreel]

Mr. Peete, your comment hit the proverbial nail on its head. It's just one more nail in the coffin bearing McCain's "Country First" lie.

[ProFromOre]

The operant word being sold.

I was remembering something I observed about McCain a few years ago while watching Senate debates and votes.. I'm wondering if you saw the same maneuvers. McCain seems to pick out major issues, say SCHIP, and he will vote against it. He will puts together an alternative bill that promotes SCHIP, but because of how it is done, gets no support, frequently no vote. Later, McCain claims he is for SCHIP even though he voted against it. Then when challenged on his support & vote conflicting, he'll respond that he had offered a superior bill on SCHIP, but he couldn't get it passed.

I watched this happen more than a few times over the course of 2-3 years, but could never understand how he could claim to be a straight talker and game the system in such a manner. After watching him campaign, I realize he does it because he has no great respect or admiration for the truth.

Do you recognize the pattern I'm referring to?

[Halsey]

Paul...I did NOT know about the Davis contract...my gosh..why didn't Obama bring THAT up>....this is huge...bigger than the $15,000 a month fee from Freddie...

I'm glad you are printing what Americans who care SHOULD have known..that S. Ossetia pulled a foolish miliary action..and OF COURSE Georgia reacted..then of COURSE Russian "over reacted"..but hell..look at OUR past...Chile (the CIA complicit in the assasination of Allende)....El Salvadore, Guatemala.­...Nicaura­gua...my GOD...We overreact ALL THE TIME...

Can you imagine what McCain would do if Sarah's husband and his cronies really DID try to secede (Alaska) from the U.S... oh..I think a few tanks would roll in...

We are so terribly hypocritic­al...i.e.,­..miliary action or reaction is only okay...when WE attack...

I am not naive..Putin is a meglomaniac..but he is human..and will die some day...

Obama really really needs to use this pay off...in the next debate....

[bluekatz]

I think what many people are missing is the McCain may have been the instigator in this provocation of Georgia against Russia. But we must ask what promised did McCain offer to Saakashvilli if he would in fact provoke Russia? The reason why the US has not stepped in and made a bigger issue of it was because of McCain, who could have thrust the US into another senseless war based upon lies, greed and manipulation. For it was Saakashvilli that basically told on McCain, when he called McCain about the situation when his little coward tail ran. Much to the American people the Mainstream Media has distorted the true facts about the Georgia/Russian conflict merely because these n*tjobs are incapable of telling one ounce of the truth. The pundits who are saying the Russia is acting like a bully need not go far in comparison for we have George Bush who did exactly the same thing but as a result millions of lives were disrupted, country in shambles, and thousands of innocent people who have perished. So to throw stones one must replace the broken glass of their own house.

[CousinTiti]

Thank you for the article. I am really glad that someone is bringing up McCain's reckless comments about Putin and the Russians in general. I can't understand why people (especially television pundits) keep highlighting McCain's foreign policy experience. I actually think that McCain is terrible when it comes to foreign policy, not only because he is rash but also because he demonstrates no concrete knowledge. You don't get the feeling that he is on top of things at all. Obama has demonstrated that he is better informed and seems to have good instincts when it comes to foreign policy decisions.

[Blah Blah Blah]

9:15 CT: McCain just made the leap from "I was joking with a veteran about bombing Iran" to "I know how to win this war."

The Second Presidential Debate: Live Analysis
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=93&ArticleName=The+Second+Debate%3a+Live+Analysis

[HatingTheGame]

I noticed that every time McCain mentioned Georgia he also mentioned Ukraine, even tho there is no evidence in the broader press that Ukraine is an issue. I wonder if part of Rove's visit to the region (he visited Georgia shortly before the crisis started, which even Henry Kissinger states above that Georgia started, and Russia hints was incited by outside actors) was also to potentially stir up Ukraine. If McCain's numbers go up during international tensions, then I wonder if something is afoot in Ukraine, and that McCain is aware of it hoping it will bounce is numbers in the last minute.

Could Bin Laden be sitting in the Ukraine recording this year's pre-election message? Now that would be "surprising"!

[jacqmac]

So far as I know-and I have had the pleasure to know several Ukrainians in my lifetime--the Ukraine is NOT-I repeat-NOT wanting to be a part of a new Imperial Russia. Period. The Ukraine never really saw itself as part of the old Soviet Union either, regardless of what the central Russian Government told them or the rest of the world. So far as Georgia is concerned-there is a body of evidence stating that the two teeny pieces of real estate that Georgia and Russia were contesting, decided they wanted to be part of RUSSIA when the old Soviet Union broke apart. WE-the United States Government-'poked the bear' and somehow gave Georgia the idea that Russia was 'taking over' a part of their 'soverign state' that was Russian by choice. I don't know how many barrels of oil there are under the soil of South Ossetia-I really don't care. The Ossetians made their choice years ago.....

[Blah Blah Blah]

The Second Presidential Debate: Live Analysis
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=93&ArticleName=The+Second+Debate%3a+Live+Analysis

Oct 7 Polling Update.
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=92&ArticleName=Poll+Update

Checkout my piece on Youth Voter Registration. For every 100 registered voters aged 18-24, the democrats accrue a 9 vote advantage.
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=85&ArticleName=Youth+Vote%3a+The+Power+of+Registration

Obama 349, McCain 189
http://voteforamerica.net/electoral.aspx

[lbcyclist]

McCain reacts from the gut and is unable to differentiate long term strategy from short term tactics. His repetitive referral to the surge in Iraq as a strategy is a case in point.