Cameron adopts the John McCain position

Notice how David Cameron and John McCain - who have been talking in the last 48 hours - are occupying the same political territory over Georgia, adopting more bellicose positions than Brown and Bush respectively.

Cameron, sounding as hawkish on a foreign policy issue as I have ever heard him, said Russia's action is "massive and disproportionate", called on the West to consider suspending Russia from the G8 and said Britain should review the visa rules for Russian nationals. Speaking at his monthly press conference, he added:

"We should not let this lie; we should not just think 'well now there’s perhaps going to be a ceasefire and we can let all this go away.' What has happened is unacceptable, it has very profound consequences for the region and very profound consequences for other countries that border Russia."

This mirrors closely the John McCain position, which - interestingly - is sending ripples of fear through Democratics who worry the strategy is successfully highlighting Obama's failure to talk tough on the issue. You can see the similarities in this International Herald Tribune / NYT report.

Senator John McCain issued a detailed and forceful denunciation of Russia on Monday, saying that it seemed intent on toppling the Georgian government and that Moscow needed to understand that this would have "severe, long-term negative consequences" for its relations with the West. McCain called for emergency meetings of NATO's North Atlantic Council and of Group of 7 foreign ministers and for high-level U.S. consultations both with European allies and with countries like Ukraine that he said faced Russian intimidation.

The subject is a great one for McCain: it makes his look tough, allows him to play to anti-Russian sentiment which pleases his base even after all these years. It also creates dividing lines with Obama (whose campaign initially dismissed McCain as too close to Georgia. Team McCain has hit back saying that Obama's foreign policy is designed to please Moscow. Good to see the enthusiasm for the Cold War still exists in Washington.)

The British aren't quite so instinctively anti Russian, but this position still makes David Cameron sound tough and principled (though there are policy questions of where he goes from here in the event of an escalation by Russia. UN resolutions? Troops?).

There are also dangers since Georgia are no saints in this story, as Cameron acknoweledged in the press conference. He said Georgia's President Saakashvili's initial strike, taken with the presumed backing of the west, "was misguided" -- but then went on to portray the issue in black and white terms. (For an acknowledgement of the complexities history has bequeathed on the region, see President Gorbachev's fascinating desconstruction of the history of the region in today's Washington Post).

But on a wider point, could a McCain-Cameron hawkish international alliance the start of something more long term?

Comments

[Mad Max]

John McCain is a gas! Lets hope Cameron's gas does not get cut off by the Russians?

[Chuck Unsworth]

Well at least Cameron is visibly taking a stance - unlike the cretinous Miliband who seems to have been infected by the McCavity Syndrome so pervasive in Downing Street.

[Sean]

Your rather disparaging phrase "enthusiasm for the Cold War" overlooks the dangers which the "New" non-democratic, sabre-rattling Russia poses to a weak and energy starved Europe. Past lessons are becoming increasingly relevant.

[oldasiahand]

Dave should be careful. Cuddling up to McCain won't win him many favours here. Georgia is not our problem.

[Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky]

A McCain-Cameron-Sarkozy alliance could really achieve something. Let's hope it happens.

[peter c]

n-one is going to go to nuclear war over Georgia, obviously but making Russia a pariah state is a possibilty but would she care?-still i gues Europe and America can easily outspend Russia despite her gas and oil

[thomas]

What will hurt Russia is her pocket. This means oil and investment. Any restrictions on Russian economic development will have a real effect on the popularity of the government and the morale of the country. Putin and his gang are popular because they have - it seems - turned around Russia's economic fortunes allowing it to have a say in the world again. The new carriers they have ordered are possible because of the new wealth they have. Economic warfare is the way to take them down a peg or two. They still have outdated military hardware and can not extend beyond a regional irritant without further economic progress. Invest in nuclear and urge the Europeans to do the same.

[m wilson.]

Cameron has a lot of military service to put in before you can compare him to McCain, but he is too busy hugging hoodies.

[Ron Zuckman]

Is the West seriously contemplating a nuclear war (& a third world war ) over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

[Ron Zuckman]

Is the West seriously contemplating a nuclear war (& a third world war ) over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

[Ron Zuckman]

Is the West seriously contemplating a nuclear war (& a third world war ) over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

[Ron Zuckman]

Is the West seriously contemplating a nuclear war (& a third world war ) over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

[john Walter]

having heard McCain first hand at the Munich Security Conference many years ago i shudder at the thought of him being President. Rumsfeld had just been made Defence Secretary and McCain launched into a tirade against Saddam Hussein calling him a terrorist and demanding immediate invasion of Iraq. This was before 9/11 changed everything. So if McCain was a raving firebrand back then, what the hell is he now?

[jorge peterman]

Never heard of that position. does it involve of offering to give the other exactly what they want without being to specific, then surprising them with a really quite nasty and specific alternative?

[Andrew]

Fair enough, what is happening there is wrong, it shouldn’t be going on… but how can we talk about suspending there G8 membership, visa or sanctions or any of that rubbish?

So if Russia did not agree with out invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan they have the power to exclude us from being in the G8 do they? Would you support them limiting/restricting who can and can’t visit or work there? Would you support that they can hold sanctions against us on exports, money etc?

Sanctions only affect the people, as did the one's in Iraq, literally cost 1000's of children’s lives through starvation, thirst and treatable medical problems!

Visa restrictions only affects the general public of Russia, so everyone suffers for there government actions even though they are powerless to stop them! A bit like when missions of people marched against the war in Iraq but Tony Blair had already promised George he’d go in with him no matter what, he even knew at the time the intelligence was phoney but pressed on regardless!

Exclude them from the G8? It's like saying exclude them from talks and negations! It’s like "why not lets try and get there backs up" and exclude them from the "superpower" that is the G8! A partnership they’ve been active in since 1991 and fully participating in for well over 10 years now, it’s like saying, yeah lets through all them good relations and progress into the bin as a punishment for them, but really it’s a punishment for us all, regardless of whether they are a G8 nation or not.

Basically who are we to say anything when we ourselves have invaded sovereign nations, we currently occupy two nations, regardless of how Russia feel about it...

We should offer our support and assistance in resolving the matter peacefully and not threaten use of “force” unless a direct threat is made by them against our nation OR our national security is threatened. We should always go for the most peaceful and productive resolution.

[patrick barrins]

Georgia miscalculated the russian response to its Military action.. The west has lost the moral high ground since its actions in Iraq...And the poor reading of Russian minds .. by the Bush administration on there proposed deployment of a so called Eastern anti terror missile screen...only aggrivates an already suspicious russia...Obama is the the only hope to stabilize this region..

[tomran]

Pot calling kettle black

[Phil Ishmael]

A McCain-Cameron-Sarkozy alliance could really achieve something. Let's hope it happens.
Posted by: Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky

Yeah…WW3!

[Howard]

OK, folks, get tough with Russia, rather than Georgia who started it.
What will happen? Not WW3! America and Russia have to much to lose.
Russia just turns off the Energy taps to Europe.
6 months without Energy? Those who aree saying go for nuclear energy? How many years will it take to get up and running. We don't have that time.

[James]

Why cant people just accept that both Russia and Georgia were wrong.

If i was provoked I would be a bit angry.

[John]

This event has the Neo-con DNA all over it.
CIA and Mossad agents were arming training and helping the Georgian Military, who wetre sniping and Killing the Russian peace keepers and civilians in south Osseitia. The also miscalculated in that several european NATO allies vetoed Georgian membership and thank God or NATO would now be at war with Russian Cameron is full of BS. Does he really want to start world war three This has been an American Israeli plan that has badly backfired and I am sure Mr's. Putin and Medvedev are fully aware and now prepared to strike directly at Israel in defense of Iran and the Americans in Iraq.

[sinna mani]

What bothers me about all this is the fact that only the west has carte blanche to pursue its interests all over the world without any consideration for the human suffering but Russia should not interfere even in its own backyard where it has numerous ties.

[peter c]

get out of Georgia"-- "shan't "- "if you don't we shall get jolly cross"- "so what we don't care" "ok we're really really cross now"- "ooo err we're trembling in our boots"

[dave]

What an idiot Bush is remember the fuss when Cuba seemed to be getting nuclear missiles, personally if America was even thinking of putting nuclear missiles in Britain then we should panic, Oh dear we have got them after all. Yes George put them in Poland and Georgia then they will get nuked first!!!!!!!!!!

[james banten]

A McCain-Cameron-Sarkozy alliance could really achieve something. Let's hope it happens.

Posted by: Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky | 14 Aug 2008 12:02:01

yeah - World war three!