Eyes on Biden as he returns from Georgia

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/eyes_on_biden_as_he_returns_fr.html

Eyes on Biden as he returns from Georgia
Posted August 18, 2008 6:09 PM
The Swamp



Sen. Joseph Biden convenes a committee hearing in July. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

by James Oliphant


Sen. Joseph Biden, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, returned Monday from a fact-finding tour of the conflict in Georgia.

And if media speculation is to be believed, he returns a hotter commodity for vice president than when he left this weekend. Biden was invited to the country by the Georgian goverment. Being a lion of Senate foreign policy has its privileges, ones that are not similarly enjoyed by, say, the governor of VIrginia.

Biden's stature is believed to have been enhanced by the perceived need in the Obama campaign to counter John McCain's advantage with voters on foreign affairs and national security issues. And perhaps the need to find someone who has served in the Senate longer than McCain has.

Here is a release from Biden's Senate office:

"During my time in Georgia, I surveyed the human and geopolitical consequences of the conflict there firsthand. I visited a facility where some of the tens of thousands of Georgians who have fled the fighting are seeking refuge, unsure about whether they will ever return to their homes. On the tarmac of Tbilisi's airport, I consulted with the dedicated U.S. Air Force personnel who are bringing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the region. I spent many hours in talks with Georgia's President, Prime Minister, Parliamentary Speaker, and other national leaders discussing how Georgia and the West should respond to this crisis. And I conferred extensively with U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Tefft and, via phone, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about how the United States should meet this challenge.

"I left the country convinced that Russia's invasion of Georgia may be the one of the most significant event to occur in Europe since the end of communism. The claims of Georgian atrocities that provided the pretext for Russia's invasion are rapidly being disproved by international observers, and the continuing presence of Russian forces in the country has severe implications for the broader region. The war that began in Georgia is no longer about that country alone. It has become a question of whether and how the West will stand up for the rights of free people throughout the region. The outcome there will determine whether we realize the grand ambition of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace.

"Russia must make good on President Medvedev's commitment to immediately withdraw Russian troops to their positions before the current fighting began. We also need a truly independent and international peacekeeping force in Georgia's conflict regions. And we must help the people of Georgia to rebuild their country and preserve its democratic institutions.

"When Congress reconvenes, I intend to work with the Administration to seek Congressional approval for $1 billion in emergency assistance for Georgia, with a substantial down payment on that aid to be included in the Congress' next supplemental spending bill. This money will help the people of Georgia recover from the damage that has been inflicted on their economy and send a clear message that the United States will not abandon this young democracy. I hope this $1 billion commitment will be matched by others in the international community.

"I have long sought to help Russia realize its extraordinary potential as a force for progress in the international community, and have supported legislative efforts intended to forge a more constructive relationship with the Kremlin. But Russia's actions in Georgia will have consequences.

"Russia's actions have already erased the possibility of advancing legislative efforts to promote U.S.-Russian partnership in the current Congress, including an agreement to allow for increased collaboration with Russia on nuclear energy production and the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which currently blocks the country's integration into the World Trade Organization. Russia's failure to keep its word and withdraw troops from Georgia risks the country's standing as part of the international community. That is not the future the United States or Europe want - but it is the future Russia may get if it does not stand down its forces and live up to its commitments."

It's one thing when McWarmonger says Georgia is some big test, it's another when Biden says it. With Biden, you actually have to pay attention.

This could get ugly, but even it it doesn't, it signals a change in Russian attitude towards the US. The bear is back.

He will make a great VP or SOS. Can't wait.

This is sobering. As DC Bob says, the bear is back.

I don't know how we could have let it come to this -- or if there was anything we could have done to prevent it.

The US has to stand behind its policy to support democracies, and this puts us in a really tough spot.

I applaud that Biden is emphasizing the need for an independent and international presence as a peace keeping force.

For once, I hope this administration listens to the wisdom of the SFRC and its Chairman.

I look at this as totally independent from the VP race, but the MSM can't seem to grasp the larger picture.

It is amazing how many events have occured during the Bush administration where they claimed "we had no idea" or "no one would have expected this to happen". At some point even the Bush administration's strongest supporters must realize these people are not competent. It is time for a change.

Even if thinking voters realize that Biden and others will be close advisors, it's more important than ever to put someone with great foreign relations experience on the ticket. If Obama wants to win ~ and we knows that's what he intends to do ~ our veep will be Biden.

and what the international community will do, other than any of them or us taking sides in this.

I'm OK with humanitarian aid, though this is a lot of money, but not more $$ into military/govmt there.

on edit - on the other hand, Biden may have seen and heard things there that made him think this way, and what the hell do I know? He wasn't calling for this before he went over there.

we're giving them money, but they're not living up to their side of the agreement.

:sarcasm:

And then consider Dubya's own fractured, jabbering assessments of complex global problems.

What do you all say we vote Democratic this year?

:thumbsup:

:hi:

:hi:

:hi:

I will vote Dem.

we have been dumbed down so long, but they (the media) is doing the repig/neo cons dirty work.

Which is that South Ossetia does not want to be part of Georgia

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/09/georgia.russia1

To many Russians this vast geopolitical retreat from places which were part of Russia long before the dawn of communist rule brought no bonus in relations with the west. The more Russia drew in its horns, the more Washington and its allies denounced the Kremlin for its imperial ambitions.
Unlike in eastern Europe, for instance, today in breakaway states such as South Ossetia or Abkhazia, Russian troops are popular. Vladimir Putin's picture is more widely displayed than that of the South Ossetian president, the former Soviet wrestling champion Eduard Kokoity. The Russians are seen as protectors against a repeat of ethnic cleansing by Georgians.

In 1992, the west backed Eduard Shevardnadze's attempts to reassert Georgia's control over these regions. The then Georgian president's war was a disaster for his nation. It left 300,000 or more refugees "cleansed" by the rebel regions, but for Ossetians and Abkhazians the brutal plundering of the Georgian troops is the most indelible memory.

<snip>

In the Balkans, the west promoted the disintegration of multiethnic Yugoslavia, climaxing with their recognition of Kosovo's independence in February. If a mafia-dominated microstate like Montenegro can get western recognition, why shouldn't flawed, pro-Russian, unrecognised states aspire to independence, too?

Given its extraordinary ethnic complexity, Georgia is a post-Soviet Union in miniature. If westerners readily conceded non-Russian republics' right to secede from the USSR in 1991, what is the logic of insisting that non-Georgians must remain inside a microempire which happens to be pro-western?

I'll stop for the moment, and concentrate on Googling out from that article.

pnorman

Very.

He's an "OK" on FP issues - not dynamic, but certainly better than the creeps in office now (hell, my dog is better on FP issues than the creeps in office now).

But, how does a guy with his accent... from New England, pairing up with another Northerner (Chicago is more "Northern" than mid-Western, like the rest of Illinois) translate into votes from the Heartland and the South?

I'm not getting this strategy. We have to flip a few of these states to win.

Foreign policy and national security creds. He is well known and well respected across party lines. Solid, Catholic, older, white guy, born in PA. PA is looking good for Obama at the moment but Obama cannot take any chances -- PA win is a must. Biden is a great attack dog, maybe the best. He will slam McCain and get away with it. Also, Obama and Biden are great friends -- there is very good chemistry there. Obama/Biden is a sure winner.

Oh, and I live in Pa and if Biden was born here it is news to me- not that it would matter much or move me to vote for Obama if I wasn't already going to do so. Biden may be a decent attack dog, but he has been know to put his foot in his mouth many times and go on endlessly about himself. Biden is going to have to be about Obama- not Biden. I don't know if he can stick to the script.

policy than McBush ever thought about being. And he's nothing if not dynamic!
I think he's from PA and is a senator from Delaware. And what accent? :shrug:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

Clark knows more FP in his little finger than Biden does in his whole body.

I guess, comparatively speaking, I think of Biden as far less of an FP choice.

P.S. I'm in Tennessee. Trust me, Biden has an accent.

So don't we all, or most of us!

As for Clark having more FP experience, I'm not willing to place a bet on that, but whatever. We shall see what happens.

DE = Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern

Biden has a mid-Atlantic accent, not a New England accent

baby. That's what. Look it up in the dictionary.

Sign me
-Former Draft Clarkie

PS. Biden has no accent, other than Phillyisms ;)

They're probably out bobbing for apples or something else useless. John McCain should beat the shit out of them both when they touch down in DC.

IMO. However,if Biden is the guy Obama trusts and believes will be his different kind of VP, those of us who don't care for Biden will just have to accept it. But, Biden didn't even endorse Senator Obama. He chose the no risk path and didn't endorse either Clinton or Obama.

Can't visit a place I never heard of. :silly: