Reactions to story from USAToday

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  Krauthammer: McCain Has Hidden Agenda To Kill The United Nations

  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/27/krauthammer-mccain-un/
  45 days ago in Think Progress · Authority: 6,544

  Krauthammer: McCain Has Hidden Agenda To Kill The United Nations Filed Under: Radical Right By Ben at 1:02 pm Krauthammer: McCain Has Hidden Agenda To Kill The United Nations Yesterday in an foreign policy address in Los Angeles, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

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    "The idea here, which McCain cant say, but I can, is to essentially kill the U.N."

    http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/03/idea-here-which-mccain-...
    45 days ago in Althouse · Authority: 1,088

    Said Charles Krauthammer.
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  The Media’s McCainiacs

  http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/03/31/the-media%e2%80%99s-...
  41 days ago in The American Conservative · Authority: 181

  Tom Toles’s cartoon in the Washington Post on Sunday captured the hero-worshipping attitude towards the Republican presidential candidate John McCain (presumptive) by the MSM, and especially by the press corps and the pundits in Washington, who seem to go out their way to be “fair” to their man, treating him with kid gloves and giving him the benefit of the doubt when he screws up. Remember Vicki Iseman, the Washington lobbyist whose friendship with St. John the Maverick had raised his own aides’ eyebrows and was exposed by the New York Times? Why should you? It was the Times that ended up being depicted as the villain in the narrative by the media that allowed the Straight Talk Express to run over the story. Embarrassing (to McCain) topics such as his anti-Catholic evangelist or his Iran-supports-Al Qaeda Senior Moment seem to disappear from the media’s radar screen very quickly. More recently, journalists and pundits have treated McCain’s foreign policy address, in which he committed himself to continue pursuing President Bush’s policies in the Middle East and establishing more “coalitions of the willing,” as though it was a serious attempt to reorient U.S. policy in a more realistic direction: John McCain reading Norman Podhoretz’s lines but being portrayed as the ideological heir to George Kennan.
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  Why McCain Makes Conservatives Nervous

  http://twoblogright.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/why-mccain-make...
  43 days ago in · No authority yet

  Do liberals really think that conservatives don’t want to have constructive relationships with other countries? Because we really do. It’s just that we are hopelessly pragmatic. We just get all hung up on facts and logic. Liberals fixate on the way they wish things were and conservatives are stuck on the way things really work.   For example, historically, gentle pandering and has not been an effective way to deal with thug nations that respect violence and brute force. McCain already has the love and admiration of sophisticated liberals who beleive that we need the approval of the UN, and we can get their approval if we grovel long and hard enough. If he really wants to capture the hearts and minds of conservatives, he is going to have to elaborate on his strategy for improving foreign relations. what is it he knows about dealing with Chinese marxists or former Soviet KGB thugs or radical jihadists that noboby at the State Department knows about? http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-03-26-mccain-speech_N.htm?csp=34
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  McCain i utrikespolitiskt linjetal: annan ton än Bush

  http://erixon.com/blogg/?p=461
  45 days ago in Dick Erixon — I hjärtat rebell · Authority: 129

  McCain i utrikespolitiskt linjetal: annan ton än Bush torsdag 27 mars 2008 · 22:18 Natten till onsdagen höll republikanske presidentkandidaten John McCain ett linjetal om utrikespolitiken i Los Angeles. Det är långt, inträngande och väjer inte för svåra frågor. Verkligheten är utgångspunkten, inte retoriken. Jag skulle vilja höra Barack Obama och Hillaray Clinton lika tydligt tala om vad de har för avsikt att göra om de skulle vinna presidentvalet. Talet har väckt stor uppmärksamhet. Massmedierna lyfter fram att McCain har en annan ton i relationen till Amerikas allierade, främst Europa, än vad George W Bush har haft. McCain understryker behovet av samarbete och ömsesidig respekt. Bloggen rapporterade i förra veckan om denna McCains ansats, när han publicerat en sammanfattning av talet i debattartikel. Men bortsett från etiketten och diplomatiska spelregler (som det nog är klokt att följa), står McCain fast vid en offensiv amerikansk utrikespolitik. Här finns inte ett spår av den isolationism som många är oroliga för, särskilt om demokratiska partiet vinner Vita huset. Jag gillar klartexten i detta avsnitt: De som hävdar att vi ska dra oss ur Irak för att bekämpa al-Qaida mer effektivt på andra håll gör ett farligt misstag. Frågan om de var där förut är oväsentligt, al-Qaida är i Irak nu, på samma sätt som de finns i gränslandet mellan Pakistan och Afghanistan, i Somalia och i Indonesien. Ett för tidigt tillbakadragande från Irak skulle innebära att al-Qaida kan proklamera sig som segrare och fortsätta att provocera fram sekteristiska motsättningar som fortfarande finns, men som betvingats av framgångarna genom motoffensiven. Dessa fraktioner av sunniter och shiiter har fortfarande att lägga sitt månghundraåriga hat bakom sig, ett hat som annars kan underblåsas av al-Qaida. Ett inbördeskrig i Irak kan snabbt utvecklas till ett folkmord, och destabilisera hela regionen då grannländer kan understödja olika fraktioner. Jag anser att ett dumdristigt och förhastat tillbakadragande vore ett fruktansvärt nederlag för våra säkerhetspolitiska intressen och för våra värderingar. Iran skulle betrakta ett förhastat tillbakadragande som en seger — den stat som ger störst understöd till terrorister, en stat med kärnvapenambitioner och med statligt proklamerad önskan om att förgöra Israel — och kommer att kunna öka sitt inflytande i Mellanöstern högst markant. Dessa konsekvenser av en amerikansk förlust kommer att utgöra hot mot oss under många år framåt, och de som argumenterar för detta, så som både demokratiska kandidater gör, talar för en kurs som kommer att dra in oss i ett värre och svårare krig som medför klart större faror och uppoffringar än de vi hittills fått bära. Jag argumenterar inte emot tillbakadragande därför att jag på något sätt skulle vara okänslig för det lidande som krig medför. Jag intar min position eftersom jag hatar krig, och jag vet mycket väl och mycket personligt hur grymt krig är. Men jag vet också att vi i vissa lägen måste betala priset för att undvika att senare tvingas betala ett ännu högre pris. Detta är exakt det vägval USA och västvärlden har att göra om Irak och Afghanistan! Ett snabbt tillbakadragande kommer att bli en kortvarig seger för pacifisterna i medievänstern. För det skulle bli en många gånger större seger för fundamentalismen. Snart skulle ett helvete uppstå i Mellanöstern, där det hittillsvarande våldet vore rena barnleken i jämförelse. Lyssna på uttdrag från YouTube: McCain’s Foreign Policy Speech. Läs hela talet: Remarks By John McCain To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Se också: Miami Herald i McCain rejects Bush’s foreign-policy tactics, but embraces his goals, Washington Post i The Contrarian Loyalist, West Australian/AP i McCain to change from Bush foreign policy style, CNN i Allies key to McCain’s foreign policy vision, USA Today i McCain foreign policy speech calls for cooperation, International Herald Tribune i On foreign policy, McCain draws contrast to Bush. (Andra intressanta bloggar om USA, McCain, försvaret, säkerhetspolitik, demokrati, utrikespolitik, Irak, Iran) Tema: Amerika · Irak · Säkerhetspolitik
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  Krauthammer: McCain Has ‘Hidden Agenda’ To ‘Kill The United Nations’

  http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/27/krauthammer-mccain-un/
  45 days ago in Think Progress · Authority: 1

  Yesterday in an foreign policy address in Los Angeles, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called for the United States to create and lead a “League of Democracies” in order to “harness the vast influence of the more than one hundred democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests.” Numerous media outlets interpreted McCain’s speech as a call for “cooperation” and “collaboration” with allies and the rest of the world, “drawing a sharp contrast to the past eight years under President Bush.” But last night on Fox News, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer revealed the true meaning behind McCain’s “League of Democracies”: KRAUTHAMMER: Well, I like the idea of the league of democracies, and only in part because I and others had proposed it about six years ago. What I like about it, it’s got a hidden agenda. It looks as if it’s all about listening and joining with allies, all the kind of stuff you’d hear a John Kerry say, except that the idea here, which McCain can’t say, but I can, is to essentially kill the U.N. Watch it: & As Krauthammer noted, he proposed this “League of Democracies” nearly “six years ago,” so he would know its actual “agenda.” Indeed, Krauthammer delivered a speech on “Democratic realism” in 2004 outlining this agenda which calls for the U.S. to “commit blood and treasure” to spread democracy in strategic areas around the world. Perhaps McCain does want to “kill the U.N.” After all, he backed anti-U.N. crusader John Bolton’s nomination as the organization’s U.S. ambassador and secretly pushed his confirmation. Bolton famously said “there is no such thing as the United Nations” and if the U.N. building in New York “lost ten stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”
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  McCain's Foreign Policy

  http://williamdipini.blogspot.com/2008/03/mccains-foreign-po...
  45 days ago in William Dipini · Authority: 31

  "I am, from hard experience and the judgment it informs, a realistic idealist." Here's the full text (pdf) of McCain's speech delivered yesterday at the World Affairs Council. On Iraq:Those who argue that our goals in Iraq are unachievable are wrong, just as they were wrong a year ago when they declared the war in Iraq already lost. Since June 2007 sectarian and ethnic violence in Iraq has been reduced by 90 percent. Overall civilian deaths have been reduced by more than 70 percent. Deaths of coalition forces have fallen by 70 percent. The dramatic reduction in violence has opened the way for a return to something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi. People are going back to work. Markets are open. Oil revenues are climbing. Inflation is down. Iraq’s economy is expected to grown by roughly 7 percent in 2008. Political reconciliation is occurring across Iraq at the local and provincial grassroots level. Sunni and Shi’a chased from their homes by terrorist and sectarian violence are returning. Political progress at the national level has been far too slow, but there is progress. Critics say that the “surge” of troops isn’t a solution in itself, that we must make progress toward Iraqi self-sufficiency. I agree. Iraqis themselves must increasingly take responsibility for their own security, and they must become responsible political actors. It does not follow from this, however, that we should now recklessly retreat from Iraq regardless of the consequences. We must take the course of prudence and responsibility, and help Iraqis move closer to the day when they no longer need our help. That is the route of responsible statesmanship. We have incurred a moral responsibility in Iraq. It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible, and premature withdrawal. Our critics say America needs to repair its image in the world. How can they argue at the same time for the morally reprehensible abandonment of our responsibilities in Iraq? Those who claim we should withdraw from Iraq in order to fight Al Qaeda more effectively elsewhere are making a dangerous mistake. Whether they were there before is immaterial, al Qaeda is in Iraq now, as it is in the borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Somalia, and in Indonesia. If we withdraw prematurely from Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq will survive, proclaim victory and continue to provoke sectarian tensions that, while they have been subdued by the success of the surge, still exist, as various factions of Sunni and Shi’a have yet to move beyond their ancient hatreds, and are ripe for provocation by al Qaeda. Civil war in Iraq could easily descend into genocide, and destabilize the entire region as neighboring powers come to the aid of their favored factions. I believe a reckless and premature withdrawal would be a terrible defeat for our security interests and our values. Iran will also view our premature withdrawal as a victory, and the biggest state supporter of terrorists, a country with nuclear ambitions and a stated desire to destroy the State of Israel, will see its influence in the Middle East grow significantly. These consequences of our defeat would threaten us for years, and those who argue for it, as both Democratic candidates do, are arguing for a course that would eventually draw us into a wider and more difficult war that would entail far greater dangers and sacrifices than we have suffered to date. I do not argue against withdrawal, any more than I argued several years ago for the change in tactics and additional forces that are now succeeding in Iraq, because I am somehow indifferent to war and the suffering it inflicts on too many American families. I hold my position because I hate war, and I know very well and very personally how grievous its wages are. But I know, too, that we must sometimes pay those wages to avoid paying even higher ones later.ADDENDUM: You can read the speech here....
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  NEW WORLD ORDER: McCain Calls For Global League Of Democracies

  http://pimpinturtle.com/2008/03/26/new-world-order-mccain-ca...
  46 days ago in I'm A Pimpin Turtle... · Authority: 46

  Source: USA Today WASHINGTON — John McCain urged more U.S. engagement with the world on Wednesday, including the creation of a new global warming plan and a global "League of Democracies." "We cannot build an enduring peace based on freedom by ourselves," McCain said in an address to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He did not offer any new proposals in the speech, instead repackaging ideas he had developed during the Republican primary campaign. McCain defended the Iraq war, condemned torture of terrorism suspects, advocated free trade, urged Russian's expulsion from the G-8 alliance of nations, and said "dealing with a rising China will be a central challenge for the next American president." Russia should be expelled from the G-8 because of its rollback of democracy, McCain said, while rising economic powers Brazil and India should be invited in. The former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW also stressed his desire for peaceful relations among nations, telling the crowd, "I detest war." McCain said the question of whether the al-Qaeda terrorist group operated in Iraq before the war is "immaterial," because they are there now and will use a U.S. withdrawal to proclaim victory. "Civil war in Iraq could easily descend into genocide, and destabilize the entire region as neighboring powers come to the aid of their favored factions," McCain said. Democratic National Committee Chariman Howard Dean said Wednesday McCain's call for global cooperation rings hollow given his support for the Iraq invasion of 2003. "John McCain's empty rhetoric today can't change the fact that he has steadfastly stood with President Bush from day one and is now talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years," Dean said. "His new appreciation for diplomacy has no credibility after he mimicked President Bush's misleading case for a unilateral war of choice when it mattered most. Why should the American people now trust John McCain to offer anything more than four more years of President Bush's reckless economic policies and failed foreign policy?" The Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee only mentioned Iran in connection with North Korea, saying the United States should block the nuclear ambitions of both nations. He did describe Iran as "a nation whose president has repeatedly expressed a desire to wipe Israel from the face of the Earth." McCain also skipped over some recent events, such as China's crackdown on Tibet. He said the United States has "numerous overlapping interests" with the communist nation. "But until China moves toward political liberalization, our relationship will be based on periodically shared interests rather than the bedrock of shared values," McCain said. He devoted most of his speech to "the transcendent challenge of our time: The threat of radical Islamic terrorism." "Prevailing in this struggle will require far more than military force," McCain said. "It will require the use of all elements of our national power." That includes diplomacy. McCain also said the United States must be a good model for the rest of the world. In addition to condemning terror, he said "we should close Guantanamo and work with our allies to forge a new international understanding on the disposition of dangerous detainees under our control." McCain ended by saying he wants to be president because "more than any other nation on earth," the United States should lead "in building the foundations for a stable and enduring peace." McCain appeared to be talking to critics who say he has been "overly aggressive" with provocative comments about Iran, Iraq and Russia, said Derek Chollet, a senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security. "It seems to be more of a speech of re-assurance," Chollet said. "And it was an implicit contrast with the Bush administration." McCain also seemed to break with the policies from President Bush's first term, in which the United States often acted alone, said Walter Russell Mead, a foreign policy analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations. Mead noted that Bush has spoken more of global cooperation in his second term, and McCain wants to continue that effort. "The big themes (of McCain's speech) are deepening cooperation with Europe, deepening cooperation with Latin American and the Southern Hemisphere," Mead said. That includes McCain's call for a League of Democracies. Mead called it a "nice idea" that speaks to frustration with the United Nations because China and Russia can veto anything the U.N. might want to do. But it's impractical to think a league of democracies could replace the U.N., not only because it might exclude China and perhaps Russia must also many authoritarian regimes in Africa and the Middle East, Mead said. "It's easier talk about this kind of thing than actually put it together," Mead said. Chollet said some conservatives oppose the league because of suspicion of international institutions, while liberals worry about alienating China and Russia. But Chollet said it can't hurt to have an organization promoting democratic values worldwide. "I am one of those who is, 'the more the merrier,'" Chollet said. McCain, long a proponent of the League of Democracies, said it "can harness the vast influence of more than one hundred democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests." He delivered the speech within days of returning from a trip to the Middle East and Europe.

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