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We are all Georgians now
Prison Planet
Republican White House hopeful John McCain Tuesday stepped up a fusillade against Russian "aggression" and declared that today, "we are all Georgians."
Addressing voters in Pennsylvania, McCain said he had spoken by telephone earlier with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who he said wanted to thank the American people for their support.
"I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, today, we are all Georgians," said the Republican, a hardliner against Russia who wants the mighty nation expelled from the Group of Eight club.
Both McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama have condemned Russia's incursion into Georgia following the Saakashvili government's abortive attempt to rein in the breakaway, pro-Moscow region of South Ossetia.
"It is past time for the Russian government to immediately sign and implement a ceasefire," Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, said in his latest statement on the crisis.
"Russia must halt its violation of Georgian airspace and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia, with international monitors to verify that these obligations are met," the Illinois senator said.
McCain, at his "town hall" meeting in the town of York, said Russian military operations were continuing despite assurances to the contrary from Moscow.
And he cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's assertion that "it would be best if he (Saakashvili) left" power, stating that this showed Russia was bent on the destruction of Georgia's democratically elected government.
"Today the killing goes on and the aggression goes on," McCain said, adding that Russia wanted "to send a signal to any country that chooses to associate with the West."
With the eruption of the crisis in Georgia, McCain has jumped on the opportunity to cast himself as a grizzled veteran in contrast to the relatively inexperienced Obama.
"My point is we live in a dangerous world," he said at the town hall meeting, stressing his frequent visits to Georgia, although he again mispronounced Saakashvili's name.
The Obama campaign says judgment is more important than experience, noting that Washington veterans such as McCain and Vice President Dick Cheney were driving forces behind the war in Iraq.