The Corner on National Review OnlineWhat strikes me as odd (and probably strikes the Russians as fortuitous) is that we don't have a graduated scale of response any more. For instance, we can put a limited number of troops into Georgia - but not really enough to stop a Russian land grab if they were determined. Or - we can go nuclear. The state of our forces and the logistics of getting them to Georgia for battle would make providing anything over a token force difficult indeed, so we've got basically two levels of response now..With the Obama campaign saying McCain's statements about Georgia are "aggressive" and "belligerent" and "very aggressive" and "very belligerent" at that, it might be time to remind ourselves of Harry Jaffa's words, written for Barry Goldwater once upon a time: "Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
I think it should be noted that nothing McCain has said is as aggressive as the actions of Russia. It strikes me odd right now to complain of aggressive words in the defense of democracy rather than condemning aggressive actions against a democracy.
I think we can pretty well rule out any UN action on this one - since Russia sits on the Security Council.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few days. But don't you find it odd that you're not supposed to say anything that might be construed as belligerant or agressive against Russia? You'd almost think that it was holy ground or something...
J.