Biden’s views on a new Pakistan policy illustrates yet again he can handle the job of secretary of state. But considering other challenges our nominee faces, Biden’s expertise convinced me a long time ago that he’s the
man who can most help Obama when it comes to the nominee’s unknown quantity, which has some European leaders nervous, as reported in the Washington Post. Biden as Obama’s
vice president quiets nerves immediately, because leaders around the world know him. He’s proven. Biden’s recent op-ed in the Financial
Times on the Russia – Georgia conflict further points out Obama could have no steadier
hand by his side than Joseph Biden. Russian
must stand down:
… By acting disproportionately with a full scale attack on Georgia and
seeking the ouster of Georgia’s democratically elected President Mikheil
Saakashvili, Moscow is jeopardising its standing in Europe and the broader
international community – and risking very real practical and political
consequences.The historic precedents in this case should trouble the Kremlin. The Red
Army’s invasion of Hungary in 1956 succeeded in putting down an anti-Soviet
rebellion, but simultaneously unmasked the brutality of the Soviet regime
and tarnished Moscow’s reputation around the world. Similar consequences
followed Soviet interventions in Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. If Russia
continues to overreach in Georgia, it might earn a small tactical victory.
But it will do so at the expense of a monumental strategic defeat.For years, Russian leaders have had a constant refrain with their American
counterparts. Russia, we were told, wanted two things: international respect
and to be treated as an equal by the United States. However, its leaders have
evidenced few qualms about denying such treatment to nearby countries….
Biden goes on to make the case, not only that Russia is endangering their WTO
possibilities (partially because of the Jackson-Vanik amendment that he mentions in his op-ed), but risks the Olympics in
2014.
For Moscow, the most obvious casualty of the fighting could be the Sochi
Winter Olympics in 2014 – supposedly the crown jewel in the country’s
campaign to reinvent itself. Sochi is only a few miles from the border with
Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia. Regardless of any political
consequences, if fighting spreads, it could drive up insurance rates for the
games to the point that it becomes prohibitively expensive to hold the Olympics
in the region at all.
He then calls on Russia to stand down, for the country’s own sake: The
only hope for preventing this crisis from becoming a calamity for Russia’s
relationship with the west is for Moscow to immediately ceasefire, pull back
its forces and agree to negotiations brokered by the international community
– all steps that the Georgian government has agreed to. If the fighting
continues, this moment could emerge as a turning point in the west’s relationship
with Moscow, and deny Russia the international standing it seeks.
Can Tim Kaine offer this analysis? Can Evan Bayh? Not without conjuring up his Joe Lieberman, neocon committee roots. As for Kathleen Sebelius,
she is a non-starter for most Hillary supporters and breaks the one rule above
all for vice presidential choices: do no harm. She would shatter the Clintonites
to the four winds, as most would dig in and refuse to work or vote for Obama,
with this happening upon her announcement and before we even get into what she
offers to the ticket. Clintonites simply wouldn’t care. As for the
latest buzz, John Kerry, no one can doubt he’s been out front fighting for
Obama, giving what he didn’t last year. But he brings a whole lot of baggage with him, too, which makes him the absolute wrong choice. So, if it’s not going to be Hillary Clinton… though I still hold out hope.
John Nichols of The
Nation wrote on Biden as well recently. On just about every point we
agree.
Comments are closed.