Senator Obama has an opportunity for a foreign policy coup of sorts.
When Russia went to war with Georgia nearly six weeks ago, neither candidate was particularly impressive in their response. McCain continued to toe his long standing hard line with Russia, while Obama said very little and continued his vacation in Hawaii - about as far away from the action as could be.
The man who became Obama's running mate, on the other hand, was intimately involved - as he has long been - in the Caucuses situation. He's surely knowledgeable enough about the events - and the American response - to inform Obama that the Bush administration has made a serious and dangerous mistake.
Bush decided to punish Russia by essentially 'freezing' all American/Russian relations.
We rely on Russia to help keep the world safe. We especially need their help in preventing the development and spread of WMDs. But, as the LA Times reported yesterday, the congressionally appointed Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism has been asked to not go on its upcoming Moscow fact-finding mission. This is part of the Bush administration's 'Russia freeze'. But the freeze couldn't come at a worse time.
Yes, something needs to be done in response to Russia's aggression in Georgia - and, more recently, their support for Venezuela. But it needs to be done intelligently. Recent intelligence has shown that the Caucasus are increasingly becoming a 'crossroads for Islamic extremists, criminal mafias, black market traffickers and corrupt government officials'. These are basically the four sorts of people who threaten the world - and especially America - by their interest - financial or ideological - in WMDs.
It seems to me that Obama could profit by making this an issue in the upcoming debate over foreign policy. He could use it to highlight the difference between smart foreign policy and 'strong' foreign policy. He could give Americans a real reason to support the former - and thus Obama. McCain is very likely, in response, to continue his long-held anti-Russia position and to criticize Obama as being soft on Russia, to which Obama could respond that he's being hard on WMDs and smart about Russia.
When Russia went to war with Georgia nearly six weeks ago, neither candidate was particularly impressive in their response. McCain continued to toe his long standing hard line with Russia, while Obama said very little and continued his vacation in Hawaii - about as far away from the action as could be.
The man who became Obama's running mate, on the other hand, was intimately involved - as he has long been - in the Caucuses situation. He's surely knowledgeable enough about the events - and the American response - to inform Obama that the Bush administration has made a serious and dangerous mistake.
Bush decided to punish Russia by essentially 'freezing' all American/Russian relations.
We rely on Russia to help keep the world safe. We especially need their help in preventing the development and spread of WMDs. But, as the LA Times reported yesterday, the congressionally appointed Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism has been asked to not go on its upcoming Moscow fact-finding mission. This is part of the Bush administration's 'Russia freeze'. But the freeze couldn't come at a worse time.
Yes, something needs to be done in response to Russia's aggression in Georgia - and, more recently, their support for Venezuela. But it needs to be done intelligently. Recent intelligence has shown that the Caucasus are increasingly becoming a 'crossroads for Islamic extremists, criminal mafias, black market traffickers and corrupt government officials'. These are basically the four sorts of people who threaten the world - and especially America - by their interest - financial or ideological - in WMDs.
It seems to me that Obama could profit by making this an issue in the upcoming debate over foreign policy. He could use it to highlight the difference between smart foreign policy and 'strong' foreign policy. He could give Americans a real reason to support the former - and thus Obama. McCain is very likely, in response, to continue his long-held anti-Russia position and to criticize Obama as being soft on Russia, to which Obama could respond that he's being hard on WMDs and smart about Russia.
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