Did I just break some code of silence?

In this line of attack, the thing McCain has to worry about is shooting himself in the foot with his own mouth. Consider the Georgian situation; even as the "Obama's not experienced enough" mantra was repeated over and over, McCain was going hardcore with "expedite them into NATO!"..."Peacekeepers!"..."We are all Georgians." Of course, we found out later--after McCain's freestyle powerplay--that it was Georgia who precipitated the situation with the first military foray into the disputed area, and we learned that Saashvili was basically playing a wager that the West would come to his aid. So much for all that vaunted "experience," huh?

The perfect counter-ad to this would be clips of McCain's gazillion flip-flops, with the tag line, "If this is experience, it's overrated. We don't need more of the same."

Tell that to Obama. He's the one who said he wasn't experienced enough.

Wes;

For libs, it's always America's fault. Remember that for next week at the Republican convention. Dems will have to answer to why it's always America's fault.

If Russia turns its sights on the Ukraine, your comments are going to look rather silly, Wes. And you seem to forget that Georgia was sending troops into its own territory.

Wes, You have bought Russia's explanation of who started the conflict. It appears the media have as well.

Have you done any of your own research? You are quite well known for your research, Wes.

Could I suggest this:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121988657412478425.html

and this:

http://www.michaeltotten.com/

Sorry, I don't know how to make these active links from the post.

I too worry about Ukraine, the Kiev Symphony is returning to our area soon and in the past I have hosted a couple of Ukrainians during the Symphony visits. The Ukrainians I have met are wonderful people.

Duff, I'm not opposed to NATO expansion; I merely suggest that expediting it as a reaction to Russia is not the wisest course of action. We seem to forget that NATO accession is a question of consensus among the membership; the US cannot force the issue by fiat, and the latest accessions were certainly thorny. In addition, the Ukranian population is deeply split on the question; forcing the issue could precipitate some nasty consequences in Kiev.

I would suggest that EU accession would be a much better option for Kiev. You're absolutely right that Russia will continue to pressure Ukraine; in many ways, they've never stopped doing so. EU accession will stabilize Kiev's economy, bring in foreign investment and have directly beneficial results to the Ukrainian population. In addition, the Ukranian people overwhelmingly support EU membership, so there's points to be scored there as well. EU membership would also be likely to 'grease the skids' for eventual NATO membership (say, within 5-10 years); strong economic ties lead, quite naturally, to military ties.

Finally--and bluntly--NATO membership won't mean squat if we aren't in a position to meet the mutual defense obligations of Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty. Extending that mutual obligation to Russia's doorstep would be raising the stakes with a bet our current military might not be able to cover. (I don't like saying that, but we are stretched pretty thin right now, yes?)

We aren't out of options, however. We could pursue further military assistance treaties, joint exercises, bring them into training rotations (even through NATO, albeit not as full members; Ukraine is part of NATO's Partnership for Peace), and the like. There is much the US can do without putting all of Europe on the line for Kiev.

(As far as 'buying' any particular narrative of events in Georgia is concerned, I think that Saashvili gambled on Western/US support and made a move against which Russia was already prepared. (Search for 'restore constitutional order' to find some different timelines of events.) Russia still plays geopolitical chess; Georgia isn't mated, but it is in check for now. Saashvili overreached and Russia was prepared to overreact.)

Zoy, you seem to have forgotten that Georgia sent those troops into areas it had pledged (in a 1992 treaty) to leave 'as is' with Georgian, Russian and Ossetian peacekeepers in place. Whether justified or not, Saashvili's action provided Russia the pretext it needed.

It would seem that neither Tblisi nor Moscow have clean hands on this one.