21 October 2008

McCain, Obama Call for More Engagement with Russia, Europe

Both critical of actions in Georgia but neither sees return to Cold War

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates chats with Senator John McCain during a 2007 security conference in Munich, Germany.

By Howard Cincotta
Special Correspondent

Washington — U. S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama agree the resurgence of Russia and security and cooperation in Europe will be key foreign policy issues of the next presidency.

The candidates’ interest in addressing security in Europe follows Russia’s August assault on Georgia, which has elevated U.S.-European/Russian relations to the rank of central international issues in the 2008 presidential election. (See “Geneva Talks Seek Stability, Security in Georgia, U.S. Says.”)

The candidates have been sharply critical of Russia’s actions, but Obama and McCain have ruled out any kind of military response and both have spoken in favor of diplomacy and economic leverage.  Neither seems to believe that U.S.-Russian relations will revert to Cold War politics.

“We want to bring international pressures to bear on Russia in hopes that that will modify and eventually change their behavior,” Senator McCain said during the second presidential debate October 7.  “The Russians must understand that these kinds of actions and activities are unacceptable.”

“I think that it is important that we understand they're not the old Soviet Union, but they still have nationalist impulses that I think are very dangerous,” Obama told the same national television audience.

One possible response to Russian aggression, Obama said, is for the United States to provide financial and moral support not only to Georgia, but also to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and “all of the nations that were former Soviet satellites.”

RUSSIA AND GEORGIA

Both candidates responded to Russia's incursion into Georgia with concern about Russian motives and calls for unity by NATO member nations.  And both agree energy will play a critical role in future Russian actions and Western responses.

If Western nations can reduce their dependence on foreign gas and oil, Obama said, that reduction would cut into Russia’s energy profits and the country’s ability to do mischief in other countries.  McCain said that Ukraine and Georgia are both major gateways for energy flows to Europe, which is why the United States must stay engaged in the region.

"We believe history will judge the Russian invasion of Georgia as a serious strategic miscalculation,” McCain said on his campaign Web site.  “The invasion will not only have a unifying effect on the West, it also made clear that Russia — unlike the Soviet Union — has few real allies of strategic worth."

Both candidates have challenged Russia’s claim to “privileged interests” in other countries.

"We want to work with the Russians,” McCain said in the first presidential debate September 26. “But we also have every right to expect the Russians to behave in keeping with a country who respects international boundaries and the norms of international behavior.”

“Events in Georgia make it more necessary than ever for the United States and Europe to reiterate their shared commitment to the sovereign right of all European countries to live in freedom from the threat of military or economic coercion," Obama said in a September 17 statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Richard Lugar and Barack Obama speak to reporters in Moscow during a 2005 trip to assess progress on destroying weapons stockpiles.

Russia “cannot be a 21st-century power and act like a 20th-century dictatorship," Obama said in the September 26 presidential debate.  At the same time, Obama acknowledged that there are issues of common interest, such as nuclear proliferation, where the United States and Russia must continue to cooperate.

RUSSIA AND NATO

In their debate comments and in earlier policy statements, Obama and McCain repeated their commitment to a reinvigorated trans-Atlantic alliance that can successfully address challenges ranging from Afghanistan to the promotion of peace and security in Europe and the former Soviet Union.

In a 2007 article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, McCain said revitalization of NATO would be one of his highest priorities. He criticized Russia for diminishing political freedoms at home and attempting to manipulate Europe's dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. (See “Candidate McCain Aims to Revitalize U.S. Global Standing.”)

McCain called for the Group of Eight nations to again become "a club of leading market democracies" that would include Brazil and India but exclude Russia.

"Western nations should make it clear that the solidarity of NATO, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, is indivisible and that the organization's doors remain open to all democracies committed to the defense of freedom," he wrote.

Obama, like McCain, has strongly supported the principles of NATO revitalization and enlargement, including a stronger, integrated NATO military, political and development effort in Afghanistan.

Instead of creating a new “league of democracies” proposed by some U.S. politicians, Obama, in his 2007 Foreign Affairs policy overview, vowed "to rebuild the alliances, partnerships and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security."

He criticized the Bush administration for dismissing European concerns over the invasion of Iraq in 2003, saying, "Our alliances require constant cooperation and revision if they are to remain effective and relevant." (See “Obama Emphasizes Multilateral U.S. Foreign Policymaking.”)

ARMS PROLIFERATION

Both candidates seem to recognize the critical threat of the proliferation of nuclear weapons but differ on how the United States should approach the issue.

McCain calls the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty broken, saying the burden of proof for suspected violators must be reversed, with an automatic suspension of nuclear assistance to states that cannot demonstrate full compliance with treaty safeguards.

Obama has called for an expanded effort to remove bomb-grade materials from civilian nuclear reactors and storage sites around the world as well as a reduction of U.S. weapons stockpiles. He called for the United States to lead by example by destroying the nuclear materials from decommissioned weapons, and pressing Russia to do the same.

Both candidates have urged renewed international efforts, diplomatic and economic, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, although McCain has criticized Obama's readiness to conduct direct talks with Iran to reach a resolution to the nuclear issue.

For more information, see America.gov’s guide to the U.S. elections.