This is my first diary, so I'll keep it short and tight, and let the subject matter do the talking.
Add another item to John McCain's incredibly poor judgment; it seems as if his hasty decision-making and need to politicize every significant event has bitten him in the ass again.
August 2008: Russia attacks Georgia who is using force to quell a separatist movement in South Ossetia...
McCain jumps headfirst into bed with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili: (MSNBC)
Using the Georgian president's nickname -- although mispronouncing his last name -- McCain said he spoke with President "Misha" Saakashvili today and reassured him that "the thoughts and the prayers and support of the American people are with that brave little nation as they struggle for their freedom and independence."
"And he wanted me to say thank you to you, to give you his heartfelt thanks for the support of the American people for this tiny little democracy far away from the United States of America," McCain said of his conversation with Saakashvili. "And I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, 'Today we are all Georgians.'"
JoeMentum contributes as well:
Lieberman kicked things off by saying, "We've just seen over the last few days as the Russians invaded a sovereign nation, Georgia, and watch the response of this man, John McCain, to that crisis, right, strong, clear, principled, the kind of president we need in the White House over the next four years, to be there to protect our country, our security and our freedom."
John digs deeper: (Fox)
McCain instead zeroed in on the need for the international community to develop a consensus opinion and stand up to what he called Russian "aggression" and "killing."
"Over the past several days, we’ve seen that international aggression’s tragically not a thing of the past. We thought we put a lot of that behind us at the end of the twentieth century, but now we find it rearing its ugly head in the twenty-first," McCain said. "There must be an independent international peacekeeping force in the separatist regions and we should ensure that humanitarian aid can be airlifted to Georgia’s capital, and we stand ready to help our Georgian partners put their country back together, and we must make clear to Russia’s leaders: the benefit they enjoy from being part of civilized world require the respect for the values, stability and peace of that world."
Yes John, we get it; Georgia GOOD. Russia EVIL.
Right?
Today, The BBC reports:
Georgia accused of targeting civilians
And is accused of war crimes:
Eyewitnesses have described how its tanks fired directly into an apartment block, and how civilians were shot at as they tried to escape the fighting.
Research by the international investigative organisation Human Rights Watch also points to indiscriminate use of force by the Georgian military, and the possible deliberate targeting of civilians.
Indiscriminate use of force is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and serious violations are considered to be war crimes.
Aww CRAP John! You did it AGAIN.