On April 17th of this year, John McCain's chief foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann, took $200,000 from the Republic of Georgia. That same day, John McCain talked on the phone with Mikheil Saakashvili (transliterations vary) and issued a statement condemning the Russians and vowing US support for the Georgian Republic.

This is the same fellow who help bring us the War in Iraq, which including contingent liabilities is going to cost us at least $3,000,000,000,000, millions of Americans their homes, all of us trillions in increased energy prices and thousands of American lives. Adventurism in Iraq and incompetence in Afghanistan have left American military at its lowest preparedness since the War in Vietnam. The meager military aid delivered to the Georgians (100 advisors and a modest supply of arms) emboldened the Georgians to assert control of South Ossetia which the Russians have held for years with disastrous consequences. And Osama is still around to remind us that we took the bait and bankrupted the American Economy.

While the new National Defense Strategy coming from Robert Gates shows movement towards "soft" power, the McCain campaign is a throwback to the worst war mongering of the neocons early in the Bush administration. When the generals begin to realize the limits of force, it's time for the politicians to tread the path of peace and reconciliation.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Scheunemann
2. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-20-mccainadviser_n.htm
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/12/AR2008081202932.html?nav=rss_politics
4. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Randy_Scheunemann
5. http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/national_defense_strategy_073108.pdf