< Back to Front Page Text size – +

McCain continues foreign policy assault on Obama

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 19, 2008 01:22 PM

John McCain took another whack today at Barack Obama, in his own backyard, over talking to America's enemies.

After going after each other last week in the wake of President Bush's remarks comparing talking to rogue regimes to appeasement, Obama told Oregon voters on Sunday that "strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries" and that compared to the old Soviet Union, countries such as Iran pose a "tiny" threat.

McCain told the National Restaurant Association today in Chicago: "Obviously, Iran isn’t a superpower and doesn’t possess the military power the Soviet Union had. But that does not mean that the threat posed by Iran is insignificant. On the contrary, right now Iran provides some of the deadliest explosive devices used in Iraq to kill our soldiers. They are the chief sponsor of Shia extremists in Iraq, and terrorist organizations in the Middle East. And their president, who has called Israel a 'stinking corpse,' has repeatedly made clear his government’s commitment to Israel’s destruction.

"Most worrying, Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons," McCain continued. "The biggest national security challenge the United States currently faces is keeping nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. Should Iran acquire nuclear weapons, that danger would become very dire, indeed. They might not be a superpower, but the threat the government of Iran poses is anything but 'tiny.' "

McCain said such statements show Obama's inexperience and recklessness on foreign policy.

UPDATE: Obama answered back at a rally this afternoon in Billings, Mont., saying, "I understand the threat of Iran" but that he also understands that the former Soviet Union could destroy the world several times over.

But the reason Iran is more powerful is because of the "Bush-McCain policy" of "endless war" in Iraq and not pursuing diplomacy, Obama said.

"Iran is the single biggest beneficiary" of the Iraq war, Obama declared.

Obama says the United States needs to rely more on diplomacy, and less on bluster, to deal with unfriendly regimes.

"We were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying we're going to wipe you off the planet," he told voters Sunday. "And ultimately that direct engagement led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war, and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall. Now, that has to be the kind of approach that we take."

  • CommentComment
  • EmailEmail
» Back to Front Page
.

I find it very interesting that no one is talking about how the Bush administration has just approved 500 tons of food to appease the leader of North Korea.It is to be shipped soon.
When we stop talking to people,of all races,and from all countries,they win,not us.
To say that we need to bomb a country that is not a threat at the present time,is not what this country is about.Talking saves lives,talking brings about different ideas,talking is what politicians do best,why would they not now.

Posted by Lance Newell May 19, 08 03:00 PM
.

Obama's assertions that the same kind of diplomacy which worked to bring down the Iron Curtain can also work with Iran is truly shocking. And very frightening. The president of Iran is not a Mikhail Gorbachev. Instead, he is a classic megalomaniac with strong psychopathic tendencies. Senator Obama also forgets that it took an enormous military build-up to bring Gorbachev to the table to begin with, and he was a rational thinker who valued human life.

The president of Iran is anything but rational. He is utterly ruthless. And completely determined to destroy as much of the West as he and his followers can get away with. Obama would surely assist him in the process.

How these liberal Democrats allow themselves to draw these kinds of bizarre parallels defies understanding. It's as if they are actually genetically unable to comprehend evil.

Let's not forget the last time a free-world leader tried "diplomacy" with a tyrant who had previously and repeatedly voiced his intention to destroy a part of humanity, 50 million human beings lost their lives, including a quarter of a million Americans.

The citizens of the United States would have to be out-of-their-minds to elect Obama to ANY office not involving the study of the liberal mind and its inexplicable inability to perceive danger.

Posted by Daniel Dolcette May 19, 08 03:32 PM
.

Fist Iraq now Iran what next please let us know Mr. McCain. When will you stop lying? May be you are ignorant.

Posted by jimjus May 19, 08 05:18 PM
.

When Obama refers to an opening of diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union, one that headed off the real threat of nuclear war, he refers not to discussions with Gorbachev but to the hugely important, initially secret discussions held by John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev in the early 1960s. To find out more about this, read James Douglass, "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters." Indeed, the episode of American history that Douglass recounts in that book substantiates dramatically the importance of diplomatic relations with our enemies. Obama is the opposite of inexperienced: he is wise beyond his years.

Posted by Mary Cheadle Babl July 15, 08 07:09 PM
.

Good morning. What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?
I am from Mongolia and also now'm speaking English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "From the internet retailer drugstore."

Best regards 8), Sarojin.

Posted by Sarojin June 21, 09 12:47 PM
add your comment *(If you put a URL in your comment, it must be relevant )
Required
Required (will not be published)

This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.

About Political Intelligence

Reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors about the Obama administration, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and other national political happenings.
see all Globe blogs

News from the Washington Bureau

Latinos, blacks take harder hit amid recession

Latinos and African-Americans in Massachusetts and across the country are facing high unemployment rates that could spiral to levels not seen in decades as the jobless economic recovery drags on, analysts and urban community advocates say. (Globe Staff, 11/21/09)

Some lawmakers push back Catholic church on health care bill

Representative Louise Slaughter has a consistent record advocating abortion rights. So the New York Democrat was stunned recently to receive, for the first time, a letter from a Catholic diocese in western New York, demanding that she explain her vote this month against a health care amendment prohibiting insurance companies from paying for abortions. (Globe Staff, 11/21/09)

Support wanes for curbs on credit-card interest rates

Efforts in Congress to cap credit-card interest rates are faltering because of opposition from Democrats and a lack of specific support from the White House, despite growing consumer outrage over a rush by banks to impose rates as high as 30 percent. (Globe Staff, 11/19/09)

Obama domestic agenda largely a one-party effort

Despite early pleas for bipartisanship, President Obama is forging ahead with his domestic agenda with a largely single-party strategy, unable to corral more than a handful of Republicans on a wide range of major legislation before Congress. (Globe Staff, 11/17/09)

Beirut attack victims’ families face new hurdle

On Veterans Day, Christine Devlin stood in the cold in Westwood for the unveiling of a new memorial to local soldiers lost overseas, including her son Michael, one of the 241 servicemen killed in the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. (Globe Staff, 11/14/09)

Powerful health care groups offer optimism on overhaul

Two leading health care interest groups, representing insurers and big business, struck a more conciliatory, even optimistic tone on the health care overhaul yesterday, emphasizing their support of the overall goal of increasing coverage and containing costs even as they warned that the wrong bill could cause great harm. (Globe Staff, 11/13/09)

FHA runs low on cash, fueling bailout concerns

The Federal Housing Administration, which propped up the collapsing housing market last year, acknowledged yesterday that it has drained its cash reserves to dangerously low levels, heightening concerns that it might need a taxpayer bailout. (Globe Staff, 11/13/09)

Earmarks’ cash flow lifts firms, lobbyists, lawmakers

16 defense-related firms in Massachusetts have secured nearly $30 million in federal funding in next year's defense appropriations bill pending in Congress. The tally offers a lesson in the practice known as congressional earmarking, in which lawmakers direct federal money to specific projects, usually in their districts. (Globe Staff, 11/12/09)

Afghanistan wary of US plan to send more advisers

Afghan officials have begun to push back from the Obama administration's plans to send hundreds of advisers to the country, complaining the Americans are often overpaid, underqualified, and unfamiliar with the culture of the country. (Globe Staff, 11/12/09)

Mass. keeps an eye on US bill’s funding ban

Massachusetts officials are closely monitoring an abortion funding ban in the sweeping health care legislation before Congress to make sure that it does not restrict women’s access to abortion coverage in the state. (Globe Staff, 11/11/09)
archives