What do the warmongers think they're trying to accomplish?
by David Atkins
Lindsey Graham and John McCain would like to reignite the Cold War, please:
President Obama should expand sanctions against Russian human rights violators, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday.
The two senators issued a joint statement that said they “obviously agree” with Obama’s decision to cancel a planned meeting next month with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
But the two said Obama should go much farther.
They called on the president to finish the last phase of a European missile defense shield that’s been scrapped and push for a new round of NATO expansion to include Georgia.
“Now we must move beyond symbolic acts and take the steps necessary to establish a more realistic approach to our relations with Russia,” McCain and Graham said. “That means demonstrating to the Russian government that there will be consequences for its continued actions that undermine American national interests.”
Ignore for a moment that these gasbags have no problem with the egregious overreach of the NSA's unconstitutional spying activities, and assume that Russia's giving asylum to Snowden is something we should actually be upset about (it isn't.)
What do these fools think their belligerent posturing is going to accomplish? Do they believe Russia will be scared into submission? Are they fool enough to believe Russia presents an actual military threat beyond nuclear proliferation?
Remember: these are supposedly the cooler, wiser heads in the GOP. Steve King is out there claiming that President Obama is too "weak" to have a summit with Putin.
For obvious reasons, the politics of the 21st century tend to focus our attention on domestic issues, the economy, and the nation's policies toward asymmetric warfare. But never forget how detrimental and obnoxious the conservative approach is to relations with other powerful nation-states. Back before the 9/11 attacks, the Bush Administration's greatest accomplishment was a tense standoff with China. Anyone want to wager what a Ted Cruz or Paul Ryan administration would look like in terms of our relations with Russia, China and the EU?
Let's not find out.
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