We have a preview of Gov. Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson. It should make for interesting TV, in any case.
On a more serious note, I am really, seriously worried about what will happen to US-Russia relations under a McCain/Palin administration. Let's not forget that McCain wants to kick Russia out of the G8, which is one of the dumbest policy positions any Presidential candidate has ever taken, and I mean that sincerely.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Palin's ABC interview
Posted by Bell Curve at 8:03 PM
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Kicking Russia out of the G8?! Well, the it's not like the G8 is even as influential as the UN Security Council. So kicking Russia out would only serve to poke Russia in the eye.
A more interesting proposal would be let China, Brazil and Spain in (the countries that have larger economies than Russia but are excluded). By the way, China has the fourth largest economy in the world. Russia's is the 11th largest.
Including countries like China, Russia and Brazil make sense. Russia is a big commodity exporter. China and Brazil are big manufacturing exporters. They all matter to the world economy and having their input on global economic affairs from time to time would be helpful for world leaders.
By the way, here is a link to the excerpts from ABC:
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5782924
This exchange is particularly worrying:
GIBSON: Let's start, because we are near Russia, let's start with Russia and Georgia.
The administration has said we've got to maintain the territorial integrity of Georgia. Do you believe the United States should try to restore Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?
PALIN: First off, we're going to continue good relations with Saakashvili there. I was able to speak with him the other day and giving him my commitment, as John McCain's running mate, that we will be committed to Georgia. And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable and we have to keep...
GIBSON: You believe unprovoked.
PALIN: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we saw with that invasion of Georgia shows us some steps backwards that Russia has recently taken away from the race toward a more democratic nation with democratic ideals.That's why we have to keep an eye on Russia.
And, Charlie, you're in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They are our next door neighbors.We need to have a good relationship with them. They're very, very important to us and they are our next door neighbor.
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?
PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.
GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they're doing in Georgia?
PALIN: Well, I'm giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it's in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along.
Sarah Palin on Russia:
We cannot repeat the Cold War. We are thankful that, under Reagan, we won the Cold War, without a shot fired, also. We've learned lessons from that in our relationship with Russia, previously the Soviet Union.
We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it's in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along.
GIBSON: Would you favor putting Georgia and Ukraine in NATO?
PALIN: Ukraine, definitely, yes. Yes, and Georgia.
GIBSON: Because Putin has said he would not tolerate NATO incursion into the Caucasus.
PALIN: Well, you know, the Rose Revolution, the Orange Revolution, those actions have showed us that those democratic nations, I believe, deserve to be in NATO.
Putin thinks otherwise. Obviously, he thinks otherwise, but...
GIBSON: And under the NATO treaty, wouldn't we then have to go to war if Russia went into Georgia?
PALIN: Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help.
But NATO, I think, should include Ukraine, definitely, at this point and I think that we need to -- especially with new leadership coming in on January 20, being sworn on, on either ticket, we have got to make sure that we strengthen our allies, our ties with each one of those NATO members.
We have got to make sure that that is the group that can be counted upon to defend one another in a very dangerous world today.
GIBSON: And you think it would be worth it to the United States, Georgia is worth it to the United States to go to war if Russia were to invade.
PALIN: What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against. We have got to be cognizant of what the consequences are if a larger power is able to take over smaller democratic countries.
And we have got to be vigilant. We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.
It doesn't have to lead to war and it doesn't have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to help us do that in this mission of keeping our eye on Russia and Putin and some of his desire to control and to control much more than smaller democratic countries.
His mission, if it is to control energy supplies, also, coming from and through Russia, that's a dangerous position for our world to be in, if we were to allow that to happen.
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OK, so she wants Georgia to be in NATO, just like John McCain does. So let's think about what she thinks that means. On the one hand she says "no new cold war" so that's good, I guess. On the other hand she freely talks about war with Russia (I guess Wassila isn't on the nuclear target list) or maybe just economic sanctions. But in a previous statement she said that Georgia should be in NATO. NATO doesn't say, "If a member country is invaded, the other members will impose economic sanctions on the invader" it talks about military support, direct military support.
So if we give Palin credit for not being a completely insane war monger, she's advocating a two level membership setting for NATO. Some members of NATO can expect US military aid and other members of NATO can't (sorry guys). This completely undercuts any deterrent effect that having Georgia or Ukraine in NATO would have.
And the scariest thing about this. These aren't the ideas of the Mayor of Tiny Town Alaska. These are ideas straight from the John McCain campaign talking points on Russia!!!!
John McCain is JUST AS CLUELESS as Palin! Blind leading the blind is what we see in this interview!
"Just say no" is as bad a foreign policy as it is a drug policy or a sex education policy. Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin should know better about all of them.
I agree with Dr.S - kicking Russia out of international organizations RATHER than engagement is as stupid as it gets. But then, McCain is a soldier and maybe confrontation is all he understands. As has been said, to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Here's a different irony that I would love to hear Palin disucss.
The US government just nationalized Freddie and Fannie Mac. This is the largest government take over of a financial insitution in history. Notice that no one is calling it "nationalization".
So while Russia is moving toward capitalism of the worst kind, we are moving toward socialism? What should we nationalize next? Maybe Sallie Mae then perhaps Exxon?
See how Palin would respond to that.
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